Children of the Red Sun
by Darth Marrs
Summary: Sequel to the Legacy of the Red Sun Trilogy. Kale Naberrie has everything he hoped for. A wife and two beautiful children. It was a dream. But like all dreams, this one had to end.
1. The New Jedi Order

**Children of the Red Sun**

Sequel to **The Legacy of the Red Sun Trilogy**

**Prologue: What Should Have Been; What Was**

This was not how it was supposed to be. To those that could step outside of time and see the course of destiny originally set, the galaxy was not as it should have been.

A young boy named Luke Skywalker should have grown to brilliant manhood. This boy was destined to become the last of the old Jedi and the first of the new. He was to help lead the forces of Light against the legions of the Dark. He was supposed to change the galaxy forever and live to a ripe old age before passing gently into the Force with his son at his side, and the ghost of his beloved wife awaiting him on the other side with open arms.

That is what should have happened.

Owen Lars was not supposed to swerve his landspeeder away from the large womprat that crossed his path. He should not have lost control of his speeder and driven it into a rock formation at two hundred kilometers an hour.

Luke Skywalker should not have died as a youth, cut down before his light could shine.

That is not what was supposed to happen. And yet, to those eyes looking from outside of time, that is exactly what did happen. If those eyes were to look away from this galaxy, far far away, they would see that at the exact moment Owen cursed and Beru cried out in terrified alarm while a beautiful young boy looked up from his toy skyhopper, a small ship's course altered by a fraction of a millimeter. This minor change, caused by the pulsing radiation output of a nearby pulsar, caused the tiny ship to fall into a black hole.

No craft made by those in the Corusca galaxy could have survived such an ordeal, but this was not a craft made by those mere mortals in this galaxy. The tiny craft emerged from a white hole intact and untouched twenty eight galaxies off course, and crashed onto a desert planet within earshot of the very home that once housed Luke Skywalker.

The Jedi within, caught in mourning for the young hope that was to lead the galaxy, stumbled out into the darkness to discover a child unlike any he could ever imagine.

Thus the Force restored the balance. A new chosen one was selected. A new destiny was shaped, and a new hero emerged.

This was not how it was supposed to be, but this is what came to be.

* * *

**Chapter One: The Jedi Order**

Karia sat with her legs crossed and her elbows resting on her knees. "I still wish dad could have come," she said.

From the pilot's seat, she heard her mother snort. Mara Jade Naberrie left the ship on autopilot as it soared through hyperspace, and walked back into the hold until she sat across from her daughter. "Kale's place is on Naboo," she said. "You know he's never felt comfortable anywhere else."

"You leave all the time."

"I don't feel comfortable anywhere," Mara said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Karia chose not to respond and continued her sulk.

"Pouting does not become you," Mara said with a hint of steel in her voice.

"It's just, Jor said…" She stopped when she saw her mother's expression.

"Jor said what?"

"He said he didn't really like it at the Temple. He said people weren't nice to him."

"Jor's almost seventeen years old," Mara said. "He's nearly a man. He's older than your father was when he fought his first Sith Lord. He can handle himself. Besides, I thought he liked Master Katarn."

"He does," Karia said quickly. "It's the others."

Mara merely nodded. "You mean Jacen and Jaina?"

Karia looked down with a guilty flush.

"If you truly want to be a Jedi," Mara said, "then you are going to have to learn how to handle the negative emotions as well as the positive ones. And Jacen and Jaina don't have any darkness in them. They just don't understand."

"Yes, Mother," Karia said. It was her passive-aggressive signal that she was done with the conversation.

Mara decided that was as good a time as any to end it. "So, are you excited about seeing Coruscant?"

Karia's expression did brighten a little.

"Good," Mara said, "because we're almost there."

In fact, the navcomp started beeping at her just a second later. The two Naberrie women walked to the cockpit and took seats as the ship reverted to real space. Almost immediately their ship was hailed.

"Incoming shuttle, this is Coruscant civilian control. Identify and state your destination."

"Control, this is the _Jade's Fire_ en route for the Jedi Temple."

"Acknowledged, _Jade's Fire_. We will alert the temple to your approach. Vector in at 2.456 mark 4.278."

"Acknowledged, control. Vectoring at 2.456 mark 4.278. _Jade's Fire_ out."

Karia ignored the exchange as she sat looking down at the most brightly lit planet she had ever seen. The night side sparkled so brilliantly it was difficult to imagine there being any unlit surface area at all. As they crossed the terminator into day, her breath caught in her throat.

There were so many ships coming and going, so many orbital platforms and structures bridging the gap between surface and space, she could hardly believe it. Mara merely grinned as they continued their approach to the surface.

Her com crackled again. "Mara, that better be you," a familiar voice said.

"Who else, you big lug?" Mara said. "I've brought Leia's new apprentice."

"Another Naberrie? Force preserve us!" the voice said. "Your son has almost been the death of me."

"Is that why you taught him to play sabacc?" Mara said.

"Had to be able to beat him at something," the speaker said without a hint of penance in his voice. "He doesn't play any better than his old man. Speaking of, is he with you?"

"What do you think?"

"No, I suppose not. I'll be on the east platform. Come on down!"

"Was that Master Katarn?" Karia asked when the call ended, and her mother nodded.

Karia had read about the many adventures of the famous Jedi. Along with Leia Organa Skywalker Solo, he had co-founded the new Jedi Order and helped build the new Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

The temple came into view just then. Although only half the size of its predecessor, the central tower of the temple still rose in a brilliant glow of white alabaster against the late Coruscanti afternoon. The four towers of the old temple were gone, replaced by the lone tower and the large base that housed the majority of the order.

Mara deftly flew them around the temple until they saw the east platform. She took the lithe _Jade's Fire_ down and landed it so smoothly Karia could not even feel the transition. The two stepped to the side ramp and walked down. Immediately Karia was assaulted by noise on every level of her hearing spectrum. She winced at it, and the forcibly reduced her hearing level.

Kyle Katarn still wore his beard, now streaked with gray. His graying hair was cut short—so short he had more hair on his face than his head. Still, he stood tall, straight and strong.

Next to him stood a young man with hair so black it almost looked blue, but with bright green eyes and strong, angular cheeks. He stood as tall as Kyle with broader shoulders, and a promise to grow larger.

"Jor!" Karia cried. She rushed to her brother, who lifted her off the pad easily.

Moments later a new figure rushed out onto the pad. Jedi Master Leia Organa Skywalker Solo wore her once long, lustrous hair cut in a short bob around her neck. That hair had grayed considerable. She had lines now tracing the shape of her eyes and mouth, and not all were laugh lines. But she carried herself with the calm, regal authority that had led her to two terms as the second chief of state and helped rebuild the nearly extinct Jedi order from two—she and Kyle—to a body of several hundred.

Still, there was a sag to her shoulders Karia did not remember from her occasional visits to Naboo—a tightness about her lips.

Leia immediately wrapped Mara in a tight, almost desperate hug. "Mara," the Jedi Master said. "You look too beautiful to be fair," she said. "Are you ever going to get old?"

"Not if I can help it," Mara said with a laugh. She turned to Karia. "Leia, you remember Karia don't you?"

"I remember a cute little girl with her father's eyes and her mother's hair," Leia said. She stepped forward and gently cupped Karia's cheek. "I've never met this gorgeous woman before."

"Aunt Leia," Karia said, even more embarrassed.

"Give me a hug," Leia ordered. Karia of course complied.

"Let's go in and get you settled," Kyle said. "Droids will bring your things in. Are you going to stay long, Mara?"

"For a few days at least," Mara said. "It's been a while since I've had a fair sparring match."

Kyle laughed. "I bet." He made a show of hitting Jor's shoulder. "This little monkey-lizard is about to ship out for some fighter training and experience. Kyp Durron is convinced he can teach a Naberrie to fly."

No one missed the sarcasm. In fact, it prompted a snort from Mara and a laughing grin from Jor. Leia did not smile.

As they entered the temple and made their way into the housing levels, Karia became aware of eyes watching her from the atrium floor below. She looked, and saw dozens of other apprentices watching her and her mother intently. She felt their curiosity; and occasional hostility.

"Get used to it," Jor told her softly. "It's been like that since I started." His green eyes flashed angrily as he spoke.

Her apartment was tiny compared to her room back on Naboo, but she quickly realized why. She would be sleeping alone rather than with a roommate. She decided this was a good thing, but wondered how common it was for padawans her age. .

"Well, get settled in," Leia said. "You're all invited to my apartment for dinner, of course. Han said he'd even cook some Corellian fire stew."

"We'll be there," Jor said.

"Yeah, I bet," Kyle said. "Come on, Runt. Let's go spar. I want one more crack at you before you take off."

"Yes, Kyle," Jor said with a grin. He smiled and waved at Karia as he left.

"Leia and I will be right back as well," Mara said to Karia. Just then a servitor droid appeared with their things. "Why don't you start getting your things put up? I'll stay with you here for the next few days if we can have another cot."

"I'll see too it, Madame," the droid said as it gently deposited Karia's things.

Leia and Mara left the room, but Karia knew they had not gone far.

Karia was fourteen years old. She was a year younger than her father, the now legendary Kale Naberrie, when he first developed his far-hearing and x-ray vision. Though she had not told anybody, she developed those abilities at age 12. She used them sparingly, but to great effect, as a certain mean classmate of hers from Naboo could attest to when her altering of her school record was made public knowledge, even though she did so from a secured terminal behind locked doors.

Karia watched through the walls themselves as her mother and her father's cousin stepped into the empty apartment next door. She reached out with her senses, and her ears immediately locked onto what was an intensely private conversation.

"I begged him to come," Leia said. "We're losing control, Mara. It would literally take something on the order of Kale beating him to the edge of death to bring Kyp and those like him under control. These wild Jedi are costing us support in the senate."

"I heard about Kyp's quest to stop smugglers."

"Those smugglers have five senators in their pockets," Leia said. "With all the tariffs in place, the smuggling rings are still the main route of goods exchange between Republic and Imperial space. That's why both the Republic and the Empire has chosen not to crack down on them. Kyp is taking the law into his own hands and has refused every request to stop. The way the Order is structured, I don't have the authority to order him to do anything. He says he's following the Will of the Force, and enough Jedi believe him that my hands are tied."

"What about reinstating a Jedi Council?" Mara asked.

Leia sagged onto the edge of a cot and shook her head. Karia had never seen her look so tired. "I've proposed forming a Jedi Council to the senate, but there are still those who think the old Jedi Council really did try to stage a coup against Palpatine. Senator Borsk Fey'la actually had the gall to say the Empire might not have occurred at all if the Jedi did not force Palpatine's hand."

Mara shook her head at the idiocy of such a sentiment. "Fey'la's a treacherous rodent still trying to buy his way into the chief of state's chair. What did Chief of State Elegos say?"

"He supports the idea of a Jedi council in principle, but he did not want to provide a charter without full senatorial support. Once the charter is made, it could never be revoked, and the Jedi Order would be re-established as a fully autonomous body. I think they fear losing that sense of control. But Kale—Mara, even Fey'la fears and respects Kale. If he were to return, we might be able to build the support base we need to get a favorable vote."

Mara sat down and put a hand around Leia's shoulders. Karia of course knew of the unique history the two women shared from the history books. She also knew of the bond that formed from that history. "Leia, I pleaded with him to come. But you know how stubborn he can be, and it's not like there was anything I could do to force him. I came here in the hopes it would make him come, but it didn't. He's afraid that if he gets involved the Republic will become dependent on him. And with dependence comes weakness, and so on and so on. Frankly he's afraid to be a leader. It's the same spiel he uses every time he receives a request for this or that. He may be the most powerful being in the galaxy, but sometime's he's not the brightest." She sighed. "Between us, Leia, he didn't even want Jor or Karia to come."

"His own children? Why? They're both Force sensitive and they need the training."

"That's just it," Mara said. "They are his children, Leia. The Kryptonian physiology is dominant. Believe me—each one came close to killing me during gestation. Without the Force and Kale, I would never have made it."

Leia sputtered. "Jor hasn't demonstrated any excess strength or speed. Jacen beats him in sparring regularly."

"He's under strict orders not to use his full powers," Mara said. "Not unless a life is in danger. He's here to master the Force; he has his father to help him master his Kryptonian abilities. He hates it, but we raised him to obey us, and he does."

"And Karia?"

Mara turned around and stared at the wall directly at where Karia was looking. "She's watching us through the wall and listening to every word we say, though she'll pretend she doesn't have those powers yet."

Karia blinked and both the vision and sound of their conversation faded before the startling, frightening realization that her mother knew her secret. A few minutes later, Mara stepped back in to the cramped room.

Karia knew better than to play the innocent. "I'm sorry, Mom."

"I know you won't do that again," Mara said resolutely.

"Yes, Ma'am." She shrugged. "Is Dad in trouble?"

"In trouble?" Mara blinked. "No, he's not in trouble. Your Aunt Leia wanted him to ride herd on some of the wilder Jedi out there. But your father doesn't believe in interfering."

Karia sighed. "I know."

Han Solo, Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Forces, struck a handsome pose as he opened the door. "Hey, good-looking!" he said. He was not speaking to Mara. Karia felt her cheeks glow red-hot. "Mara, I don't know what you're feeding them at Naboo, but whatever it is I want some. If I looked as good as Karia there, I'd have to be beating the women off with a stick."

"If you looked as good as Karia, you'd be a woman you nerf-herder," Leia said as she stepped from behind her husband. "Come on in, both of you! Kyle and Jor are already here."

Han and Mara did not hug. Rather, they shook hands respectfully. Mara told Karia about a certain kick to the face that Han still remembered, and a reciprocating punch to the face a few years later. Karia however was not able to escape the general's arms as she walked into the large apartment the Solo Family shared within the Jedi Temple. The rest of the family gathered in the formal living area.

"Karia!" a shrill voice called.

"Jaina!" The two distant cousins gave either other a long hug before parting.

"By the Force, you're gorgeous!" Jaina said.

"People keep saying that," Karia said. "I'm just Karia. But you…" Karia touched her cousin's long dark hair. "Jaina, you are beautiful!"

Jaina beamed.

"I think you're both ugly as Hutts," Anakin Solo said from the couch.

"Anakin!" Leia said, aghast.

"At least I don't smell like one," Karia snapped back. Anakin stuck out his tongue. Karia did the same. Then they hugged. "You've grown," she said.

"You have too," Anakin said appreciatively. He looked at Mara. "She has a bigger chest than you do!"

"Anakin!" Jaina yelled in disgust.

"Anakin!" Leia yelled, aghast.

Han merely shook his head and slapped his son against the back of his head. "Idiot," he said. "Never compare women's chests out loud. It's just asking for trouble."

All four women present turned and glared. Han just shrugged. "What? Just trying to educate the boy."

"Go cook, Han," Leia ordered. "Anakin, go help. We'll talk later about manners."

Anakin's happy smile died. "Er, okay. Sorry, Karia."

"You're very sweet," Karia said. "Not very smart, but very sweet."

Anakin grinned at her over his shoulder even as his father led him away.

Finally, Karia turned to face Jacen. "Hello," he said with a genuine smile. She accepted and returned his hug and tried to sense the hostility or darkness that Jor claimed was there. She felt nothing at all.

Dinner was delicious, of course. Aside from being the commander in chief of the New Republic military and a hero of more conflicts than could easily be counted, Han Solo was also a spectacular cook. His fire stew was well named, but everyone there was up to the task of handling the heat.

"Well, here's to Jor-El," Han said after the meal was served. He held up a glass of wine. Even Karia had some, although she knew that was only because alcohol had no effect on her. "May he learn to actually pilot a ship without crashing it!"

"Here, here!" Kyle said with a good-natured laugh.

Mara's brows arched. "Is there a story here I should be aware of?"

"He is his father's son," Han said. "Kale couldn't pilot a ship to save his life. The one and only time I let him ever fly my in a speeder, he almost got me killed. And Jor here is following in his footsteps."

"It wasn't that big of a deal," Jor said. He was fighting hard to be humorous about it, Karia could see, but was still frustrated. He looked at his mother. "I crashed a Headhunter."

"On take-off," Jacen added quietly before sipping his wine.

"It was an accident."

Mara shook her head. "Jor, you were raised by the best pilot in the galaxy. How can you possible crash a trainer on take-off?"

"I didn't raise him!" Han exclaimed.

Mara shot him an arched brow, and he grinned. "Judge the teacher by the students," Han said. "My kids fly just fine."

"Han, shut-up," Leia muttered into the sudden chill.

Kyle looked from one family to the other, and then shook his head. "You folks never change. You are living proof of why Jan and I never had kids."

"I thought that was because you couldn't." Mara said.

"Couldn't, wouldn't, shouldn't," Kyle said with a shrug. "Just goes to show how lucky we were," Kyle said.

The weak laughter was enough to break the tension in the room, and dinner proceeded. Finally, after luke-warm hugs, they parted company. Mara walked with her two children through the mostly emptied temple.

"I'm sorry about your accident," Mara said softly to Jor. "I know it must have been hard."

Jor shrugged. "I could have picked the ship up and thrown it off the edge of the platform, but I couldn't take off without hitting a stupid statue. Jacen didn't stop laughing at me for a week."

Mara placed her hand on his shoulder. "Your father can't fly worth a spec either. But if Kyp thinks he can turn you into a pilot, then you should give it a try. I do want you to remember something important about Master Durron, though."

"Kyp's a nerf-herding fool?" Jor guessed.

"That's right," Mara said solemnly. "He's a powerful Jedi knight, powerful enough that he could almost be a master, if Leia and Kyle weren't so repulsed by the idea. But he is arrogant, and that arrogance is hurting the entire order. Learn from him, but don't learn to be like him."

"I won't, Mom," Jor said. He gave her a hug, and they continued back to their quarters.


	2. Beltrunner

Author's Reponses at the end.

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Beltrunner**

"So this is the son of Kale Naberrie?" Lando Calrissian said with a long, appraising look. "I see a certain resemblance. Can you throw around star destroyers yet?"

Jor ground his teeth. It was a question he heard all too often. "I can't say I've tried," he said.

From behind Jor, Jedi Knight Kyp Durron laughed a little too loudly and slapped Jor playfully on the back. Jor did not move; Kyp pretended not to notice and Lando just shrugged.

"Well, if you've come to learn how to fly, Lando's Folly is the best place to do it," Calrissian said. "The shield and repulsor technology here is more advanced than anything either the Empire or the New Republic has. Once you're in one of our modified TIE Interceptors, you're as safe as in a simulator but with the advantage of experiencing real flight."

"I've been training my entire squadron on it," Kyp added. He nodded proudly to his apprentice, Miko Reglia. In the day since Kale arrived on a Jedi transport shuttle, the apprentice had not said three words to him. It seemed the shame of a Jedi coming on a shuttle was almost too much for Reglio to bear.

"So, you want to give it a try?" Lando asked.

"I'm here to learn," Jor said.

* * *

The Wookiee roared something. Beside him, a hovering semi-sentient translator droid said, "Hello. My name is Lowbacca of Kashyyk."

Karia looked up from her meal, and then looked up some more at the towering Wookiee and smiled. Lowbacca was impossible to miss. Not only was he the tallest Jedi apprentice, he was also the only Wookiee. She held out a hand and watched as it disappeared into a furry grip. "Karia Naberrie."

"Honored to meet you," the droid translated. "May I join you?"

Karia sighed with relief. It had been a week. Her mom left to run an errand for Master Solo, and in all that time Karia had eaten alone at mealtime. "I would be honored," Karia said.

Lowbacca shuffled into a sitting position and started shoveling foot into his maw. Karia had never met a Wookiee, but she knew several Gungans and was used to non-human table manners. She ate as well.

When every spec of food was removed from his tray, Lowbacca let out an air-shattering belch to show his appreciation for the meal, and grinned a toothy grin. "You are the cub of Kale Naberrie."

"I am."

"The Wookies give much honor to Clan Naberrie. As much as to Clan Solo. It is good for you to be here."

Karia wished she could agree, but it did not really feel good. The other apprentices stared at her without welcome, and she found herself more lonely than at any other time in her lonely life. "Thank you," she said simply.

"Have you learned much?"

Even in her studies, Karia did not feel very comfortable. Her parents were both trained Jedi, and so she grew up using Jedi meditation and other Force skills. She was here for her formal education in the Force, but so far she had attended only a few classes on history and mathematics. Master Leia had not had time to give her any in depth training.

"I suppose I haven't gotten started yet," Karia said.

Lowbacca nodded. "Master Solo is very busy. She has not taken an apprentice in five years. Perhaps Master Katarn can be of assistance while Jor is away."

Karia grinned. That was the most brilliant idea she had ever heard. After the meal, Karia made her way up through the central tower to the administrative offices where Leia did most of her work. She dared a brief glimpse through the walls to make sure her aunt was there, and then asked Leia's secretary for a meeting.

The door opened immediately. "Karia!" Leia said kindly. She looked tired, but otherwise happy. "Come in! I'm sorry I haven't had time to start your formal training yet." She led the way back into her office as she spoke, and settled behind a large slate desk covered in two terminals and a pile of datapads and flimsies.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Karia said. "I know you're really busy right now, and I'm also very honored you accepted me as an apprentice. I'm wondering though, if just for the first few days, if Master Katarn could help you with some of my lessons while Jor is gone."

Karia waited pensively, watching her aunt's face. She was at once relieved, and a little disappointed, at her Aunt's expression. "Is that something you would mind, learning from another master?" Leia said neutrally.

"I want to learn, Master, but I don't want to be an inconvenience. I know you took me out of friendship with my Mother. We both love you very much. But I also know that you are fighting to restore this order to what it should be, and I think that's more important. I don't care who I learn from if I know that the Order remains in good hands."

Leia smiled with obvious relief. "You're as brilliant as your mother, Karia. I won't lie to you—I would not be able to give you the time you deserve. As the nominal head of the Order, the senate's attention falls to me, and it has been a trial lately. But I think I have another master who could handle your training very well." She looked down and made a scribble with a light pen on her terminal. "Go to the number five training salle on the fourth floor and wait."

Karia nodded and stood. She was surprised when Leia also stood and walked around the desk to give her a tight hug. "I know this isn't what you thought it would be," she said. "I promise, though, that this place will make you a better Jedi."

"I know, Aunt Leia," Karia said as she returned the hug. She stepped back and was surprised to see that she was already taller than the Jedi master. "Don't worry about me."

She went to the proscribed training room and waited for a few minutes. As she waited, she let her eyes wonder around the room until she came across a wall with several training sabers on it. She took one and lit the purposefully dulled blade.

She had almost no warning at all when a man yelled from behind and swooped down on her with a flashing silver lightsaber. She just managed to spin away when the man attacked again. She raised the training saber in the way her mother taught her and caught the first few blows before the silver blade twirled hers down and thrust at her stomach.

She felt a mild tingle from the training blade.

"I can see your mother's training," the man said, suddenly calm. He deactivated his lightsaber and hooked it to his belt. "You actually handled yourself well for a new apprentice."

Karia gulped, and then de-activated the blade. "Are you supposed to be my new master?"

The man was only an inch or two taller than Karia, with a large head of hair pulled back in a knot at the back of his skull, and a tightly trimmed beard. He looked familiar, like someone whose face she had seen.

Then it struck her. "Master Horn?" she asked.

"I am indeed," the famous Jedi Master said. Unlike Masters Katarn and Solo, Jedi Master Corran Horn never attempted to lead the Jedi Order. In fact, he rejected Jedi training on at least one occasion to continue flying with the famous Rogue Squadron under General Antilles. It was from Jor's Rogue Squadron collector chips that she recognized his face. "Leia asked that I take over your training." He snorted. "Or start it."

"She's very busy."

"She's a politician at heart, Force bless her soul," Corran said. "She's exactly what the Order needs, and I say more power to her. So, given who your parents are, I'm assuming you have some basic training already. What I want to do today is plot out just how much training that is. Once I know where you've been, we'll figure out together where you're going."

Karia knew immediately that her Aunt Leia made a good choice.

* * *

Kyp Durron shook his head as he watched Jor Naberrie bounce across the asteroid field. Beside him, Lando Calrissian chuckled. "I never believed Han's stories about what a bad pilot Kale was. Now I'm beginning to believe him."

Bouncing was an accurate term for Jor's progress. He did not avoid asteroids, he bounced off them, straining even the powerful repulsor fields of the BeltRunner. Any time he gained any forward momentum, he clipped a rock and immediately spun into another.

"He's obviously powerful in the Force," Kyp said. "I can feel him shielding, and even then he glows with it. So I don't understand how anyone attuned to the Force could fly so badly."

Miko walked up to join his master. "It's like he's purposely not using all his abilities," the apprentice said.

Lando went, "Hmm," under his breath. Kyp said nothing, but realized his apprentice had hit the wamprat dead on. "Pull him back in."

Jor was frowning a storm when he climbed out of the modified TIE Intruder back on the BeltRunner facility. Some of the other pilots who liked to practice, mainly smugglers or private-sector pilots, were discussing the young Jedi's score with wide smiles.

Kyp met him in the hangar. "Come with me," he said without preamble.

When the two reached the simulator room, Kyp sat his young charge down in a TIE simulator chamber and walked around until he stood in front of the projector. "Okay, Jor. I'm beginning to understand what's wrong. When you're flying, what are you doing?"

It was an odd question. "Controlling the ship," he guessed.

"Exactly. You're controlling the ship. Now, what's controlling you?"

"Nothing. I'm handling the controls."

"Jor, do you know why the Jedi are considered such fine pilots?"

"Their flashy uniforms?"

Kyp couldn't help but to look down at the dark crimson uniform he had drawn up for his squadron. "No," he said quickly. "It's because of the Force. When a Jedi flies, we allow the Force to control us. To guide us. You have to let go of your control and become one with the Force."

Jor opened his mouth, and then shut it just as quickly. How could he explain to one of the strongest of the new Jedi that for him, it took effort to grasp the Force? The Force did not come to him; he had to pull on it to use his Force powers.

"I'll try," Jor said.

"There is no try," Kyp said. "Either you'll do it, or you won't. Now, start the sim."

The chamber sealed and the immersive simulation began. Jor closed his eyes and let go of all control, and then was promptly vaporized. He did it again, this time reaching out for the tendrils of the Force. He felt the power there, but again, there was no guidance. He died.

"Jor, let go of your conscious self," Kyp said.

Vaporization number four. Then five.

Jor sighed. "This is ridiculous," he whispered to himself.

The ships came on, and Jor stared at them angrily. The Force was giving him no warning, and no matter how he grabbed at it, it remained simply a field to expand his power. His power. He had so very much of it, and yet always he held himself back for the benefit of those around him. He did not want his light to shine too brightly, for fear of blinding those around him. It was a lesson his father had imparted in him from his earliest days.

But enough was enough. Jor sank into himself, alright, but not using the Force. Rather, he focused on his own innate abilities. He felt the fighters outside slow down. He saw laser cannon blasts streaking slowly through space toward him, and with speed not even a Jedi could match jigged the controls of the simulator to dance his ship away from the threat.

He fired, and the enemies were gone.

"That's it!" Kyp said. The Jedi Master was oblivious to the fact that Jor had not used the Force. "That's exactly what I've been waiting for. I told them I could make a pilot out of you. Now, let's do it a few more times before we try the Belt Run again!"

By the end of the first week, Jor's scores had climbed up the board in the main hangar to within a few spaces of Kyp's pilots. He still fell far short of Durron or Reglio, but was no longer considered an embarrassment. Kyp proudly proclaimed himself to be the man who taught a Naberrie how to fly.

Jor kept his mouth shut as best he could when the other of Kyp's dozen-and-two Avengers laughed. He knew it was meant to be humorous, but it felt patronizing. Still, whether because of the Force or Kryptonian reflexes, Jor could not deny the dramatic improvement in his flying skill under Durron's tutelage.

After that week, Kyp announced it was time to fly for real. "You're coming with us," the Jedi Knight announced. "Welcome to the Avengers!"

* * *

**Author's Responses and Notes:**

I know this was a short chapter. The problem of writing within the NJO timeline is...well, the NJO. I wrote this story inspite of the canon NJO, not because of it. However, like the canon stories it will take a couple of chapters to get started. It's my hope that once things get moving, everyone will enjoy more.

I was really pleased with the number of reviews. Thank you all for reading. Regarding specific question:

The Vong will be coming sooner rather than later. However, unlike the NJO I'm not going to spend too much time on the Vong perspective because, quite frankly, I never cared about them as characters. One of the many weaknesses of the NJO, I supposed. So thank you again for reading. I hope I'm able to maintain the quality of writing you've come to expect!


	3. Serpents In Paradise

Author's Notes and Responses at the end.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Serpents in Paradise **

General Han Solo maintained offices at the New Republic Strategic Command Base a few hundred klicks north of the Senate Building. It was bad enough, Solo felt, for the armed forces to maintain most of its command structure on the same planet as the government—he was not fool enough to let it be within the same blast radius of an orbital barrage.

Still, a few hundred klicks meant a commute of half an hour, which gave him time to shrug off the worries of the day before he got home, and get himself into the military mindset on his way to work.

On this particular day, as his ensign chauffer sped him through the snarling morning traffic of Coruscant, he let the deployment schedule fall to his lap and tried to retrace the strange chain of events that led to him commanding the armed forces of the New Republic.

It was all Ackbar's fault, Han decided. The venerable old Mon Cal decided that Han would be his successor, and started grooming the former Imperial Captain to do just that. "You don't just think out of the box," Ackbar once said, "you don't even know what the box is!"

Han considered resigning on several occasions, especially when Leia was elected to her first post as Chief of State, but the military was in his blood. His time in the Imperial Navy had put a stamp on his soul that switching sides did nothing to alleviate. He enjoyed the routine, and enjoyed flouting it even more. So, he stayed in the service and moved up the ranks. Under him came a cadre of officers who were insanely loyal and just as skilled.

After a string of successful campaigns during the Civil War and his command of the fleet that put down the Yevethan insurgency that anyone who was part of Operation _Freedom's Hammer_ knew was coming, Han's position as Supreme Commander was confirmed by the Defense Minister, who at the time just happened to be a former colleague named Crix Madine. Being married to the Chief of State didn't hurt either.

Then, six years ago, the unthinkable happened. Peace Accords were signed between Chief of State Leia Organa Skywalker Solo and Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, Admiral Gilad Pellaeon. Who knew the wily old Imp was so cordial?

Shortly after, Leia stepped down after her second term and Elegos T'Kla was elected the new Chief of State after a much-contested election. The Bothan Borsk Fey'la wanted very much to occupy the seat, but the embarrassment of the Bothan role in the destruction of the Camaasi propelled the only Camaasi senator to a position of power.

So, General Han Solo had the honor of commanding the New Republic Defense Force during the only six years in the history of the New Republic to have no armed conflicts.

Han didn't mind at all.

Strategic Command did not have the tall, shining towers that dominated most of the planet-wide city. Solo was military enough to understand that mindset. The building rather was a huge, fifty-story high monolith that when seen from orbit looked like the circular flame symbol of the old Rebel Alliance. To Han and the rest of the command staff who finally acceded to the Senate committee members who voted for the shape, it was known as "The Target."

Han's private landing pad allowed him a short walk from the speeder directly into his office. He was not surprised to find the High Command staff waiting for him. "Good morning," he said.

"Good morning, General," came the chorus of replies.

"What have we got?"

"Some interesting developments in the Osarian System," Fleet Admiral Sien Sovv said.

The Sullustan was Fleet Admiral second only to Solo and had nominal command over all the fleets. General Wedge Antilles was the Army commander and Sovv's peer and occupied the only other chair. Between them sat two more rear admirals and a commodore. Wedge was the only representative of the Army, which was the way Antille's liked it. Each officer had a pair of aids standing behind them.

"The conflict between Rhommammool and Osarian has escalated much faster than Intelligence predicted," Sovv continued primly. "The Rhommammool leadership has fallen to an anti-technology cult led by a man named Nom Anor. The _Viscount_ actually took damage and there have been nuclear strikes against Osarian Prime."

Han looked up in surprise. "How bad?"

"Bad," Admiral A'Baht said. The _Viscount_ was on detached duty from his personal command. "We already have assets on the ground and have stopped any further exchanges, but we're predicting millions of causalities. The Osarians are demanding blood. _Viscount_ is going to need time in a dry dock before she's hyperspace-capable."

Han shook his head in dismay. The _Viscount_ was one of the newly commissioned _Star Defenders_. Its damage would no doubt end with Han giving testimony to the Senate and Defense Minister.

"Refer the cult to NRI and ask that they see if they can cull it down," Han said. "What else is on fire?"

"The Ex-Gal Society made a request for a transport to their outpost on Belkadan," Admiral Kre'Fey said. "They've lost contact with their people there. I understand that Jedi Knight Mara Jade volunteered to make the effort to reach them."

"Yeah, she's been itching for something to do away from Naboo," Han said. Kel'Frey said nothing, but Wedge grinned.

"And finally we've received a request to send assets to Sernpidal," Sovv said. "Evidently they are experiencing a gravitational anomaly that appears to be destabilizing the orbit of their nearest moon. I've dispatched a research vessel to investigate."

Han nodded. "Good. Anything on the Imperial front?" He couldn't help the slight tinge of hope in his voice.

The high command staff shook their heads. It had become something of a joke. "All quiet, General."

Han sighed. "Oh well."

"Finally, I will be shipping on the _Ralroost_ this afternoon," Kre'fey reported.

Han nodded. "Don't do anything out there I wouldn't do," he said.

"Is there anything you wouldn't do?" Wedge asked.

Han shrugged. "Probably."

* * *

Karia ducked and rolled under the lightsaber thrust, and then quickly brought her blade up to block the follow-up. Corran immediately backed away with an approving nod. "Very good," he said. "Your mother's been teaching you well."

"That was Dad, mostly," Karia said. "They took turns."

Horn shrugged. "Never actually met your dad. I didn't know he handled lightsabers all that much."

"He trained under Master Yoda at the same time as Master Solo did. They used to spar together."

"Interesting," Horn said. "Well, mom or dad, your lightsaber technique is very advanced for someone your age. Just like your brother."

"Jor's technique is advanced? I thought Jacen beat him all the time."

"The Solo's are more than advanced. Leia had them sparring with practice sabers before they could read." Horn motioned for her to follow him and the two made their way out of the salle into one of the many balconies overlooking the main atrium of the temple.

The Temple was built with the future in mind. Given that fact, the few figures walking far below made the building seem oddly empty. "So, you want to tell me why you're holding back so much?" Corran asked.

Karia turned and studied the elder Jedi for a moment, then shrugged. "Who says I'm holding back?"

"Karia, I'm not just a Jedi. I'm a dad. My son's here in his temple now, and only a few years younger than you are. My daughter will be shortly. I can see it in you. The way you are constantly gauging how much strength to apply. That's why Jor always loses to Jacen. He is constantly holding himself back, while Jacen flows without hesitation. So, why is that?"

Karia quietly looked around until she saw a small statue in the corner of the hall. She glanced around to make sure no one was within sight, and ran to get the statute as quickly as she could.

To Corran Horn's eyes, it appeared she flickered. He caught a ghost image of her in a corner at the same time she stood before him, only now she somehow held a statute that had been in the corner.

"How…."

"I can sprint for short periods almost as fast as light," Karia confessed. The statue was made of molded permasteel. She clenched her hands and crushed it inward, and then slowly bent it into a U-shape before handing the statue to her master.

The Jedi was unprepared for the weight of the dense material and almost dropped it. "I can crush most metal easily," she added. "Jor told us about his training accident with the fighter. He could have picked it up and tossed it over the edge of the landing platform. We are our father's children. Dad didn't want us to come because he was afraid we would hurt the other apprentices. And so we both promised him that we would not use our Kryptonian power. The problem is, Master Horn, that the power doesn't have a switch. It's not something we choose to access when we need it. The strength is always there. And so yes, I have to slow down and decide how much strength to apply. I have to choose how fast to run."

"Does Leia know this?"

"She does now. I think mother told her."

Horn nodded and looked down at the statue. "Part of becoming a Jedi is learning all of what you can do, Karia. Not just through your own physical abilities, but also in the Force. By holding yourself back, you're hampering your ability to learn and excel. Same for Jor."

"But dad…"

"I don't know Kale Naberrie," Horn said, "but I'm beginning to know Karia Naberrie. As your master, I tell you that you need to explore the full scope of all your abilities to become a true Jedi." He looked around the building. "I agree, however, that this isn't the best place. We may need to go on a mission."

Karia gaped. "A mission? But I'm just fourteen."

"And you can move as fast as light and crush metal with your hands," Corran noted.

Karia looked down at the atrium. "Master, I wasn't even supposed to tell you. If Dad finds out…"

She was surprised to find Corran's hand on her shoulder. "First off, no more Master business. My name's Corran. Second, you don't strike me as the daughter of an unreasonable man. He will either understand and accept my word on your training needs, or he'll have to train you himself. Either way, you won't be made to suffer."

Just then Horn's comlink beeped. "This is Horn," he said.

Master Solo's voice piped through the small device. "Corran, is Karia there with you?"

"Yep."

"Let her know that we've received a signal from her mother requesting additional Jedi on Belkadan."

Corran nodded. "That's a coincidence. I was just discussing my apprentice's need to go on a field mission."

"That sounds like a plan then," Leia said. "I'll have transport arranged."

When the signal ended, Corran grinned. "See, even the Force agrees with me. What can your dad say to that?"

* * *

Jor waited with the other pilots as Kyp Durron's XJ X-wing docked with a buoy for data retrieval.

The young Jedi apprentice tried very hard not to think about why Kyp had a buoy out in a rarely used hyperspace lane in the first place. Unfortunately, his attempts at non-thought were less than successful. The Jedi Knight was smuggler hunting.

"We're going to the Helska System," Kyp suddenly announced without explanation. "Plot it out."

Jor hadn't even heard of the Helska System. Fortunately the astromech in his old X-Wing did, and the course was soon plotted out.

* * *

Karia watched as the Horn family squabbled on the bridge of the _Pulsar Skate_. "Did you think I was going to leave you alone with a pretty young girl like that?" Mirax Horn said loudly. Nearby, their daughter Jysella snickered.

Corran stared. "She's my apprentice. And on top of that she's Mara Jade's daughter. Do you think I'm insane?"

Karia tried to make a show of reading her datapad for her math notes when Jysella sat on the bench beside her. The girl was a good six years younger than Karia, with dark hair and large, inquisitive eyes. "You're pretty. How'd you get your hair to look like that?"

Karia's hand instinctively reached for her straight red locks. "I don't know. I was born with it."

"Wish I had hair that color." She piped up. "Mom, can I have red hair!"

"Just as soon as you turn eighteen, sweetie!" Mirax shouted back, before continuing her heated discussion over Corran's choice of apprentices.

"Is your mom always like that?" Karia asked. She had never heard her parents fight like that. When Mother was mad Dad, she just turned and walked out of the house for a week or two. Then she came back and all was back to normal.

"Oh, this is nothing," Jysella said with feigned wisdom. "This is a happy conversation. She doesn't mean it, and he knows. They just like talking that way. They'll kiss and make up and everything will be fine."

"It was nice of your mom to take us," Karia said.

"The family that flies together stays together," Jysella said. "My brother said your dad was a coward. Is that true?"

The question caught Karia completely off guard, and rang through the whole ship. The young girl looked at her parent's expressions of horror. "What? I just asked a question."

"Your room, now!" Mirax said. She marched the young girl out of the main chamber of the ship while Corran took the bench on the other side of the dinner table from Karia.

"Valin thinks that my father is a coward?" Karia asked, stunned. It all made sense, though. All the hostility she felt at the Temple—all the anger Jor said he felt—all made sense.

"She was out of line saying that," Corran said.

"But she's obviously not the only one who thinks it," Karia said.

Corran ran a hand through his neatly trimmed beard. "Your father made a difficult decision. I don't know all the details that went into it because I'm not him, but I understand it was a hard decision to make. But to the rest of us in the Alliance, it was a terrible blow. I was a pilot by then under Wedge Antilles, and when we saw what he could do, it seemed like the war would be over in a month. But it wasn't, because he didn't stay. He resigned his commission, and went with your mom back to Naboo. We begged him to come back. Wedge went twice. Even Han tried to talk him back. The war was hard. A lot of good people—good friends—were dying. A lot of people thought that they would not have died if Kale Naberrie were there fighting with us."

"Then it would be all the Imperials dying," Karia said.

"In war, that's the idea. Don't die for your cause, make the other guys die for theirs."

Karia thought long and hard. Corran, she saw, was being completely honest with her. She suspected he was the first and only one at the temple do to so. "So, let me ask you a question. What if Dad started to like the fighting? What if he started to like destroying hundreds of thousands of men at a time? He probably could have shortened the war and caused huge casualties against the Imperials. He would have continued to have the value of life eroded away, until the end only a killing machine remained. The war ends, and you have a super powerful being with no respect for life and a desire to fight looking for something else to do. Do you think that, if he had turned against you, you could have stopped him?"

"Probably not," Corran admitted.

"Mother and Dad don't talk about it, but I know he still has nightmares about the war. About killing the Emperor, and in the end killing all those people on that last star destroyer he broke. Once he was opened to the Force, he felt the lives he was taking, and I think it changed him. I think he was afraid of himself. He says it's because he doesn't want you coming to depend on him, but it's more than that. I can hear him sometimes, talking in his sleep. He didn't leave because he wanted anyone to die; he left because he didn't ever want you to have to defend against him. He knows you couldn't."

Corran studied her for the longest time. "You're a lot smarter than your brother, aren't you?"

"By quite a bit," Karia admitted. "Probably smarter than dad too. Mother says in our family the brains come with the boobs."

Corran chuckled. "Sounds like something Mara would say," Corran said. "Like I told you, he had to make a decision that was difficult for everyone. I'm sorry you had to hear what you did, but I'm glad you heard it here and we had a chance to talk about it."

"Do you think Dad's a coward, Corran?"

"I used to, when I was younger," Corran admitted. "Age has a habit of mellowing people out a bit and letting them see the bigger picture. And whatever I or anyone thinks about your parents, you and Jor are your own people. You don't deserve to be viewed under eyes tinted by your father's actions."

Mirax emerged back into the room. "You'd better not be harassing her," Mirax said threateningly.

"Are you jealous?" Corran said with a wink to Karia.

"Yes I'm jealous!" Mirax said with a snort. "Wish I had hair like that. Now, come on up here, we're approaching Belkadan."

The _Skate_ emerged from hyperspace on the edge of the planet's gravity well and made quick time. As they approached, Corran shook his head. "That isn't the same planet as what's in the Imperial Survey logs."

"Atmosphere has completely changed," Mirax said. "It's a poisonous mix. Methane and helium. All native life is either dead or dying. Wow."

"Where's mother's ship?" Karia asked.

Mirax swept the surface for signals. "There, near the Ex-Gal outpost. Let's head in."

Corran may have been a famous fighter pilot, but his wife handled her ship with such confidence Karia didn't doubt for a moment she could easily challenge her husband. The ride in was bumpy. "Massive temperature differentials," she said. "We are looking at a total ecological disaster down there. We're all going to have to wear protective suits."

"Then let's start getting ready," he said. "Mirax, when we land you and Jysella seal the boat up again and do not come out."

Karia half expected Mirax to argue, but the note of command in her husband's voice seemed enough to convince her. The two Jedi climbed into old protect suits and waited by the prow airlock for the ship to land.

Finally, the two stepped out into the hazy wilderness of a dying forest. "Nice place," Corran muttered. "Great spot for a picnic."

Karia ignored him and quickly started scanning the area with vision, only to be thwarted. "Aw krif," she muttered.

"Language!" Corran said with mock indignation. "What the krif's the matter?"

"Lead," she said, pointing at the walls. "I can't see through it."

Corran snorted. "That means you can see through things without lead."

"Yeah." Karia realized she had revealed yet another ability to Corran.

"Remind me to start wearing lead underwear," Corran said.

"Lead's poisonous to humans after long-duration exposure. Especially there."

"We all gotta die sometime," Corran said. "Stop being Kryptonian for a second and be a Jedi. Reach out with your senses and tell me what you feel?"

Karia did as he asked. "Mother!" she said. Then, "She's hurt! Something's wrong with her, and she's afraid."

"Then let's go," Corran said. They charged toward the main door, only to find it was locked. With a surreptitious glance at her master, Karia punched through the door and pulled it free of its frame.

"Is there anything you can't break?" Corran asked.

"My dad and brother," Karia said. "Jor's stronger than I am."

"And your dad?"

"He's stronger than both of us times ten. One time he and Jor started wrestling just for fun and accidentally broke a mountain on Naboo. He almost got barred from the Naboo Advisory Council for that, but he fixed it."

Corran didn't even try to figure out if she was joking or not. The two ran headlong through the halls of the station until they reached the room where they felt Mara Jade. They entered, and Karia's breath caught in her throat at a sight she thought never to see.

Mara Jade Naberrie sat leaning against a computer bank against her astromech droid, R6-C8. The droid had a slash against the barrel of its body but appeared still to be working. It stood over Mara as if guarding her.

"Mother!" Karia said as she rushed to her side.

Mara blinked and looked up. Her eyes looked dull and dark bags hung under them. "Karia?" she said. Her voice cracked and she had to clear her throat to continue. "What are you going here?"

"We got your message, Mara," Corran Horn said. "What happened?"

"Something attacked me. Strange weapons. Resisted the lightsaber. When he couldn't beat me, he threw a powder in my face. It must have been poisonous. I can feel it weakening me. And he's still here."

Corran shook his head. "I don't sense anyone near."

"You can't sense him with the Force," Mara said weakly.

Karia stopped reaching out with the Force when she heard that, and instead reached out with her other senses. She heard a slight shuffle, and then a horrid roar as a terrible creature descended on her with a strange, snake-like staff.

Karia couldn't help the started squeal as she raised her hand to ward off the unexpected blow. The staff struck her forearm and Karia cried out in surprise and pain.

The strange creature jumped back, fully as surprised as her. Karia looked down and saw a thin red line on her arm from the staff. Somehow, it had cut her, even if only by the slightest amount. Only lightsabers could hurt her skin, and then they just burned a little.

Just as quickly, the cut healed. The creature attacking her said, "What are you, Abomination?"

"She's Jedi," Corran said. "Let me show you what that means." He jumped forward with his saber lit, and the strange warrior backed away.

Without looking away from his enemy, Corran said, "Karia, get Mara and the droid back to the ship."

Karia nodded without hesitation and easily lifted her mother in one arm, and the droid in the other, and rushed back to the _Pulsar Skate._

Mirax opened the door just as soon as she realized Karia was out there. "What's wrong?" she asked the moment she saw Mara. She didn't comment on the fact Karia was carrying a two hundred pound droid with one hand.

"She was poisoned by something," Karia said. She laid her mother on the medical couch. "I'm going back for Master Horn," she said.

Mirax nodded. "I'll take care of Mara. Go."

Karia rushed back out of the ship and into the facility. She could sense Corran nearby and rushed to the room where he and the intruder continued their duel. She watched with admiration as the Jedi master wielded his blade masterfully. But this creature proved frightening in his speed and strength. She had never encountered a non-Force user who could prove a threat to the Jedi. This one, however, was.

Corran suddenly slid between the creature's legs as his lightsaber flashed from white to purple and doubled in length.

The creature cried out in rage as the saber impaled him all the way into the middle of his torso. It toppled over abruptly. It was only after Corran stood that Karia realized he was bleeding. "That was one tough son of rancor," Corran muttered.

"Are you okay?"

"I will be," Corran said. "I can see why your mom had trouble with him. He was good, and he was using some pretty strange weaponry. Grab everything you can."

Karia reached down for the staff, which suddenly coiled and hissed at her. "Corran?"

"Alive, like everything else," the Jedi Master muttered. "Grab it if you can."

Karia could, that was not the issue. With speed beyond the ability of any living organism to follow, she grasped the creature by its neck. It quickly wrapped its serpentine body around her arm while continuing to hiss.

"It's hurting me," Karia confessed, bewildered. She had never felt pain, not like that. She could see blood from the tiny cuts the creature was inflicting.

"Probably would have taken my arm off," Corran said. "Don't let it hurt you, Karia."

She nodded, and with a grimace at the sound and necessity, crushed the serpent's head. The coiling ended and it slid away to hang limp from her hand. The blood dried and in second all the cuts healed. "I've never seen anything like that," she finally confessed. "I've tried pushing permasteel nails into my arm that won't even scratch me. How can this thing cut me?"

"That's why we're taking it with us," Corran said. "To find out. Now, let's go check on your mom."

**Author's Responses**:

**Boz**--I'm the same way with stories I'm reading. But I'm only about 70,000 words into it, so I want to pace my posting until I'm done. Once I'm finished I'll accelerate to weekly postings again.

**The-Knight2000**--Gotta get Corran in there. Fortunately Kyp doesn't have a huge role in this story. It literally is about the Children of Kale. Not to say Kale doesn't play huge role, but it's not immediate.

**ScreenSurfer**--There will defintely be some some Vong kicking.

**He that Surfs the Screens**--Er, 'cause I don't want to ;p Don't worry, there will be some Vong moments. I'm just not going to try and tell half the story from their perspective. But some of the more notable Vong will definitely have some screen time.

**Roosterman71**--Kyp likes the idea of him teaching Superboy as well.

**LiMiYa**--Thank you, glad to have you reading!

**Blackdex**--For Mara, read below. Vergere will appear briefly, but compared to a host of Kryptonians she's just not that impressive any more.


	4. Falling

Author's Responses at the end.

* * *

**Chapter Four: Falling**

Jor stared at the distant red giant with a sense of queasiness in his stomach. Two million years ago, the star Helska's core experienced a helium-to-carbon shift. The outer later of hydrogen continued to burn helium as the star began to expand in order to conserve energy. As it did so, the outer surface cooled and produced less light. Its outer layer began shedding itself under the constant barrage of radiation from the core.

That radiation impacted invisibly against the ray and particle shielding of Jor's X-wing. The light alone made him almost sick to his stomach as he felt the weakening effects of it.

He wanted to say something to the others, but knew any confession of weakness would be treated with more derision. What was going to happen? He would simply maintain the rolling formation Kyp insisted on as best he could and wait until they left the system.

"I'm getting some readings from the fourth planet," Miko called. The sound of the young Jedi's voice broke Jor's dread and brought his attention back to the damnably difficult flight formation Kyp insisted on.

"Shields up and torpedoes ready," Kyp called on the open frequency.

Jor locked his _S_-foils in attack position and brought up his shield and torpedo systems. "Offset the wedge," the squadron's commander continued. "Two to my right."

Jor made no effort to comply and let two other more experienced pilots fill the desired slots. He looked down as his droid called his attention to… "Off-planet movement," Miko announced.

"Hold back and cover my tail," Kyp said.

Jor had no problem with that order. On Jor's screen he watched as the "off-planet" movement resolved itself into a swarm of small objects. Kyp's now distant X-wing spun about suddenly and put on full burn back to the squadron. "They're enemies!" Durron announced.

Jor swallowed in a suddenly dry throat. "There is no emotion, there is peace," Jor muttered to himself. The rest of the squadron surged forward and Jor did the same all the while hoping not to shoot any of his squadron mates.

Jor saw as Miko's A-wing shot out ahead of the rest of the ships. "Meet me left, Miko," Kyp cried. The two managed to make it to the rest of the squadron when suddenly Jor-El Naberrie, sixteen years old, found himself in the middle of a space battle.

Everything seemed weighed down as Jor tried to respond to the battle around him. Almost immediately his X-wing's shields took hits and his astromech droid began berating him. "Just shut up already," Jor muttered. He cork-screwed and jerked the stick to bring the ship hard to port. He suddenly found himself heading straight for a vegetable-shaped wedge of rock with miniature volcanoes and a canopy filled with a face ugly enough to make a Gamorrean blush. Strange creatures crawled along the sides of it.

"Ahhh!" Surprise fueled reflexes more than skill, and Jor fired everything he had. The enemy pilot, surprised by what would have otherwise been either a suicidal or incredibly brilliant move, did not have time to respond as the quad laser cannons fired almost point blank range. The lasers blew large chunks of the stony substance away with sufficient speed that when Jor flew right into the enemy, fully expecting to die, his shields broke the rest of the fighter into dust.

"Brilliant flying, Jor!" Kyp said.

"They sure can take a beating!" Miko called.

"Yeah, but they can't hand one out, and we know now they can go down. All right, Dozen-and-Three, our shields'll beat them. Let's get organized and knock them off one at a time!"

Jor tried to take courage from Kyp's statement, but his heart was still beating too fast. That brilliantly unorthodox move was nothing more than incompetent flying coupled with extraordinary luck.

Suddenly one of the B-wings seemed to shudder as an enemy fighter passed by it. A moment later, its pilot called out, "My shields are down!" Instantly the enemy was there, firing. Jor brought his fighter around and started firing, but then realized at least one of his quads was actually shooting at the B-wing. His horror was abated only when he realized the B-wing was already destroyed.

"No shield!" Miko cried. "Gravity well! I felt a tug, like a dozen G's pulling me out of my seat. And then a hole in the shield, and then nothing. My droid's babbling about magnetic fields, but…ahhhh!" Miko's scream ended with chilling abruptness as the enemy fighters pounced on the small fighter.

"Miko!" Durron cried. "All ships, get out, get out! Get back to Dubrillion and report what happened!"

Jor watched as around him the Dozen-and-Three (including him) was whittled down to just the dozen, then half dozen. Then...he felt a powerful tug on his ship, and the astromech actually screamed at him about magnetic fields. He looked at his control board and realized that like the other pilots, his ship had lost all shields.

A ball of yellow plasma struck his engines. The astromech made a brief squeal and then was silent. "Kyp!" Jor called. "Shields out and I just lost my engines!"

The response was hectic. "We have to report this to the New Republic!" Durron said. "There are only two of us left and he's taking damage. I'm jumping now. Hang on, Jor! We'll come back for you!"

From his angle in the cockpit, Jor couldn't actually see Kyp's fighter, though he was sure that it was distant enough to make visuals difficult. Suddenly he saw the enemy fighters gathering around his wounded ship. Through the clear canopy of their odd, organic-looking ships, he saw hideously scarred faces covered by a strange, writhing star-shaped creature. Their eyes glittered coldly.

Suddenly the sickly light of Helska dimmed to shadow. Jor looked up through his canopy and saw a large rocky shape looming directly overhead. It was a ship, he realized. Possibly an analogue destroyer or corvette. As he watched, a strange, writhing appendage dropped down from the center of the ship and latched onto the canopy of his fighter.

Jor realized with disgust that the tentacle was alive and organic. It continued to undulate like a giant serpent around his ship. Suddenly the canopy groaned as terrible pressure was exerted against it. He braced himself against the sides of the cockpit and watched in growing terror as the canopy ripped free from his ship and flew into the darkened maw of the creature. The pressure then turned to him. He grabbed onto the edges of his starfighter as the suction pulled at him. His grip was firm. It was the sides of the starfighter that gave way.

With a sub-vocal cry, Jor felt himself sucked into the alien cruiser.

* * *

"We need to get her back to Coruscant," Mirax said.

"We need to get her to Naboo!" Karia snapped back.

"Karia, your father isn't a healer," Corran said.

"He's healed Mother before."

"Not of a disease," Mirax said. She held up the scanner results. "This isn't poison; it's an illness of some kind directly attacking the molecular make-up of her cells. I've never seen anything like it. We need to get her to a Jedi healer and a medlab immediately."

Karia's lips opened to protest, but Corran held up his hand. "We'll com your dad as soon as we land to let him know what happened. But our first priority is to get her proper medical care. And let's face it; Naboo is on the other side of the galaxy. Even with the Skate's hyperdrive, we're a week away at best."

Karia turned and looked down at her mother. Mara Jade's eyes were closed and sweat beaded along her brow. Her eyes appeared sunken and darkened. "Mother, what should I do?" she whispered.

In a weak whisper, Mara said, "Trust Corran."

With no further defense, Karia sighed. "Okay."

"Okay," Mirax echoed. "We're already en route. We're a week out, though. If she get's any worse, we're going to have to stop and seek help somewhere else. We're heading for the Hydian lane. Any options?"

"Phindar's not too far off the lane," Corran said. "Bandomeer is right on the lane but I'm not sure how much help they would be. I say we shoot for Coruscant at best speed and hope for the best." He took Mara's hand, but looked to Karia. "You and I, we're going to help your mom. We're going to give her energy in the Force. Do you know how to do that?"

"No," Karia said. "But I'll learn."

* * *

"You are not worthy," an angry, guttural voice hissed at him. "Not worthy."

Rough hands pulled and pushed him along the path. All thought of resistance quailed under the terror of the moment. Jor did not fight back because he forgot he could. Moreover, he had no idea where he was or where he could go. He knew from his father that he might be able to survive the vacuum of space for a short time, but Helska was so far away from anything that he would eventually die if he fled.

The rough hands ripped and tore his clothes away. He heard laughter from the enemy as they viewed his naked body and felt his cheeks burn red. Those same hands then pushed him onto what looked like a pool of black goo. That goo immediately started creeping up the skin of his legs. Where it passed, his legs tingled. Eventually the goo covered the whole of his body in a skin-tight black suit of some type.

He found himself pushed out of the darkened red halls and into a massive cavern of ice. Scores of the strange creatures stood around the cavern, horrific in their appearance. All bore the terrible scarification as those who caught him, and stared at him with disdain. "Not worthy," many of them said in stilted Basic.

From out of nowhere a star-shaped object was thrust onto his face. Before he could clamp his mouth closed a tube was thrust down his throat. His moment of panic abated when he realized he could still breathe.

Just as quickly, he was shoved into a pool of water resting in the center of the cavern.

The aliens jumped into the water that had to be only a degree above freezing and pulled him swiftly along. Jor looked around the obviously fashioned tunnel and at his captors. They swam powerfully through the water, and he realized they wore similar suits to what he had on.

Suddenly they emerged from the water into a dimly lit cave. The rough arms tossed him out of the water, and the skin-suit peeled back with a tingle and the star-shaped breather pulled out. "Not worthy!" the creatures roared. Hands pummeled him. Feet kicked. Clubs struck him.

Jor knelt down and simply took the punishment. It did hurt, but only dimly. Eventually, the beatings eased off and his captors, every single one of them, went back into the cold water. Jor was left alone and naked on the rocky edge of the pool.

After a while, he sat up, and realized immediately he was not as alone as he thought. A figure squatted across the pool watching him intently. "You should be black and blue," the woman said. "There's not a scratch or bruise on you."

"I heal quickly," Jor said. He felt his cheeks flaring as he made an almost ridiculous attempt to cover himself.

The woman perked up, and Jor became intimately aware of the fact that she was as nude as he was. More importantly, though, she was obviously tired, scared, undernourished, and very pretty. Unlike his feeble attempts, she appeared too tired to try and cover herself. "Are you a Jedi?"

"Sort of," Jor said.

"Sort of?"

"I'm an apprentice. What's your name?"

"Danni."

"I'm Jor."

"Hello, Jor. I'd say I'm glad to see you, but I suspect that we're going to die pretty soon." She giggled, and he heard terror and desperation in the sound. She pulled a lank strand of blonde hair from her face. "They say I'm worthy. That I'll be sacrificed."

"I'm not worthy," Jor said.

Danni stood up, and Jor unconsciously averted his eyes as she walked around the pool and sat next to him. "You must be ill already," she said. "I can feel your fever from here."

"I'm not human norm," Jor said. "My normal body temperature runs high. Are you cold?"

She nodded mutely. The teenager in Jor exulted, but the frightened Jedi merely accepted the necessity. He lifted his arm and watched as Danni scooted closer to him. He wrapped an arm around her narrow, bare back. Instantly she sighed and leaned against him. "You're so warm," she whispered. "I don't understand how."

"It's a Jedi trick," Jor lied.

"Good to know the Force is useful for something."

"My squadron leader escaped," Jor said. "He said he would be back for us, and I promise he'll bring help. He is a full Jedi Knight."

"That's very brave of you, Jor," Danni said. "I hope you're right."

* * *

**Kahless21**--Glad it worked for you! Thanks for reading.

**The-Knight2000**--I'll try and get them back to you as soon as I can.

**LiMiYa**--Yeah, after The Last Son of Krypton the Rebel Alliance honestly thought Jor was going to win the war for them. Instead, he walked away. It made A LOT of people unhappy. And I'll get to the weapons in a sec.

**Dajohu**--Buddy, finally drew you over from Boards. I like it there since it's where I first started posting, but even I have to admit it's easier on readers with the Fanfic format. Glad to have you.

**Roosterman71**--Sorry, Mara's story is pretty much out of canon at first. But the ending will be different. No Ben, that's for sure.

**Question**: Why do Vong weapons harm Kryptonians? Well, why can Vong weapons withstand lightsabers? I can't really think of a valid reason other than the intent of the authors of the NJO to weaken the Jedi for plot purposes. So, amphistaffs can somehow go from snake to rod that can withstand lightsabers. I don't know why, it just is. By that logic, since we know lightsabers can lightly burn Kryptonians, then it's not a huge leap to suppose amphistaffs can cut Kryptonians. Keep in mind Karia never suffered more than the equivelent of a paper cut. But there you have it. They can harm Kryptonians to the same extent lightsabers can, because... Just because.

Thank you for reading.


	5. Missing In Action

A/N at the end.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Missing In Action**

Three days after her poisoning on Belkadan, Mara Jade opened her eyes. She found her daughter holding her right hand, and Jedi Master Corran Horn holding her left. Both were sound asleep with their heads resting on the edges of her medical couch.

"Some greeting that was," Mara muttered weakly.

Instantly Karia's head popped up. "Mother!"

Corran straightened a little slower. "Mara, how are you?"

"Sick," she said. "But better. The trance helped." She gripped Karia's hand weakly. "You helped. I could feel you and Corran. Thank you."

Corran shrugged. "Saving people is our business. Your vitals have stabilized, but you're still not in good shape."

"I noticed that," Mara said wryly. "Any idea what it is?"

Just then Mirax entered the ship and sat by the controls of the bed. "Our medical computer says it's some type of engineered plasmid. What was in the plasmid is densely packed genetic material that is attacking your cells on a molecular level. I've never seen anything like it. We can't call it a virus since viruses attack cells for reproductive purposes and multiply. The agent is not self-replicating, but neither is it diminishing or dying off. It's ripping through your cells like a storm. The agent particles have been unresponsive to even broad-volume antibiotics and antivirals. Hopefully they'll find a better answer at Coruscant." Mirax took a deep breath. "I won't lie. If you weren't Jedi, you'd be dead.'

"If I weren't Jedi, I wouldn't have been there to begin with," Mara said. "And our attacker?"

"In cold storage, along with all his little gadgets," Corran said.

"Mother," Karia said, "his staff cut me."

Maria sat up, eyes wide. "What?"

"His snake-staff thingy cut me," Karia said. "Not deep, but it still drew blood and hurt. I didn't think…" She looked at Mirax, then at Jysella playing a game in a corner while obviously trying to hear everything said. "How is that?"

"I don't know," Mara said. "Unless it was Kryptonite."

"But Dad destroyed it all after he killed the Emperor, didn't he?"

"All that we know of," Mara said. "But regular lightsabers can hurt him too. They won't kill him, but they can burn his skin."

"That thing hit you with a full swing," Corran said. "That would have sliced me in half, but all it did was scratch you. It withstood my lightsaber throughout our fight. I'm assuming it has some type of structure to make it resistant to energy and still retain a blade sharp enough to cut even you. We'll let the techies study it and find out."

The rest of the flight proceeded without incident. Karia watched her mother at all times, rushing to her at the faintest sigh. It became rather annoying. "Karia, sweetie, I love you. Please go away."

Corran snickered. "Jysella, why don't you go show Karia how to play that game of yours?"

Jysella brightened at the thought and the two went into the younger Horn's room aboard the ship. As she settled into the room to watch Jysella demonstrate the game, Karia turned her hearing back toward the ship.

"…she can't help it, Mara," Corran was saying.

"I know. And I love her for it. She hovers just like Kale does every time I get a sniffle. They've never had an illness, so neither has any idea how to act when I get one."

"Then this is probably going to shake him up some."

Mara chuckled weakly. "He'll be beside himself. Tell me, Corran, how did you come to be training my daughter? I thought Leia was going to do it."

"Plans change. There's been a lot of anti-Jedi rhetoric going on and Leia is finding herself summoned to senate hearings more than is reasonable. They're becoming increasingly hostile, too. The woman's under more stress now than when she was chief of state. I frankly don't know where it's all coming from. The Jedi still seem pretty popular to the regular people I meet. We're not abducting children or anything, so the only real stigma of the old order has gone away. And yet in the last few months more and more senators are speaking out against the Jedi. It's insane."

"That doesn't answer my question, Corran."

"Leia doesn't have time to take a student, Mara. You should know that. Karia asked for someone else and Leia was more than happy to pass the job. She knew I was available, and frankly I'm glad. Karia's an extraordinary girl. You have every right to be proud."

"She has the best of us both," Mara said. "Even if she does have a bad tendency to eavesdrop."

Karia shook her head. "How does she always do that?" she asked herself.

"Do what?" Jyssella asked.

"Never mind. So show me again…"

* * *

They came for him again, and once more Jor made no effort to fight for fear of what they would do to Danni. He let them pull the strange suit on again and place the breather on, and then pull him into the water.

The beatings he ignored. It was the obscene monster they always took him too that bothered him. Although the water was warm and balmy around it, the tentacles and the strange pressure against his mind hurt more than anything he had encountered. Always there were the voices telling him he was not worthy, that he would be sacrificed to the War Coordinator.

Then they would change their minds and laugh at the confusion evident on his face as they dragged him back to the cave. If they noticed that their repeated beatings had no discernable effect on him, they gave no indication. Nor was Jor willing to give them reason to question it. He was so afraid they would hurt Danni that he went along without even a mild protest.

"I don't understand why they're doing this," Danni said after his third trip to be sacrificed. Once more she curled up next to him, desperate for his naturally high body heat. Jor looked forward to if simply for the physical contact. Often he felt his cheeks flush hot, but then he would look away.

"I can't sense them in the Force at all," Jor said. "I can't tell you what they're thinking or why they're doing this. They seem to be enjoying it, though."

Danni made a point of running a hand down the length of his arm. "I wonder when they'll notice that you're not hurt," she said, as if in awe.

"I don't know."

"How old are you, Jor?"

Jor stammered a little. "Sixteen, almost seventeen. You?"

"You're not supposed to ask a lady's age," Danni said with just the hint of a smile.

"I didn't know that."

She laughed. "I'm 21. I left home when I was fifteen and joined the Extragalactic Society to see the galaxy. They posted me to Belkadan three years ago. Everything was find until we spotted something penetrating the galactic rim. We followed it here. They killed Bensin and Cho." Her voice broke. "No reason. They laughed while they killed them. I just don't understand why. They're obviously advanced. Those suits they make us wear in the water are better heat exchangers than our best space suits. And yet they take delight in killing."

Jor hugged her a little tighter and stared at the darkened pool of what that seemed to be the center of their world. "Kyp's going to get help, Danni. He's going to tell everyone about what happened. They'll come."

"I don't think I can wait that long."

Jor nodded. "Yes you can. I won't let them hurt you."

Danni snorted and wiped her nose. "Funny thing is, I almost believe you, Jor. You're just a kid, but I believe you."

"Folks in my family tend to blossom early," Jor said. He hoped that was true.

* * *

The Jedi healer Cilghal sighed as she leaned back. "I have never felt the like," the Mon Calamari knight said. She looked up where Leia and Corran stood with Karia between the, and then back down to Mara.

"Bacta didn't do much," Mara said.

"Bacta is an organic agent designed to help restore and repair cells. It is useless on the molecular level that these invaders are invading. They are alive, and yet such a perversion of life that I cannot even describe it."

"I do feel better," Mara said.

"I was able to help," Cilghal said. "But not to heal. I do not know what to say, Master Naberrie. I cannot heal you."

Mara sat up and smiled grimly. "I'm not dead yet."

The wall chime announced an intercom message. "Master Solo?"

"Yes," Leia called back.

"General Solo has requested your presence at Strategic Command. He's requested your bring Knight Naberrie."

"Please let him know we are on our way."

Mara turned to Cilghal. "You've told me I'm not contagious. Am I able to travel?"

"You may do whatever you feel up to doing," Cilghal said.

"Then let's go," Mara said.

When they arrived at strategic command, Wedge Antilles himself was waiting for them. "Mara!" he said when he met them. He gave her a quick hug but was not smiling. "You're looking a bit worse for wear. You okay?"

"I'll be fine. What's up?"

"It's Jor," the general said. "Come on."

"Wedge?" Leia asked.

"We've received a holonet signal from Jedi Kyp Durron from Dubrillion," Wedge said. "The planet has come under attack by an unknown group of hostiles."

They emerged into a massive command center filled with wall screens the size of auditoriums and hundreds of smaller tactical stations. They saw General Solo leaning over one of the distant stations with a small part of other officers.

He looked up as they entered and strode briskly across the floor. "Mara," he said. "I want you to hear it from me first."

"Hear what?"

"Kyp's entire squadron was destroyed. He made it out personally only with very heavy damage to his ship. He said that Jor's shields and engines were out when he had to jump."

Karia felt her heart skip a beat as her mother's hands sought hers. "You mean Kyp left Jor there?"

"He had no choice," Han said. "Look, Mara, we're facing a possible threat against the New Republic. Kyp had to be able to warn us. He had to."

Karia looked at her mother and the iron set to her jaw. "What are we doing?" she finally asked.

"Come on." Han led them across the floor to the strategic station. Kyp's holoimage was still speaking, but it was obviously a recording of his earlier contact.

"They're ships were completely organic. They used some type of creature to strip our shields and absorb our weapons and then shot big insects at us as we were retreating. The insects ate right through the fighter hulls. I've never seen anything like it."

Next to the recorded image of Kyp was a live image of Admiral Traest. "We are making best time to Dubrillion," the Admiral said. "We have received distress calls that the planet is under attack."

"You got Durron's entire message?" Han asked.

"I did."

"Any chance of dispatching a scout to Helska to search for survivors?" Han asked.

The Bothan bared his fangs slightly. "If a squadron led by a Jedi was obliterated, I would be hesitant to send a single manned ship to Helska. I would not want to approach that world except in force. However, the people of Dubrillion are under attack now. I will of course obey orders, but I would hope the needs of a whole world take precedence."

Han shook his head. Karia noticed how he looked Mara in the eye. "Proceed at best speed to Dubrillion and take any and all action to protect the civilians," the general said. "I'll contact elements of the 4th Fleet to aid you as soon as possible."

"Understood, General. Traest out."

The entire time, Han never dropped his eyes from Mara's. "I'm sorry," he said.

Karia felt waves of emotion from her mother. None of them were hate. "I would have done the same thing," she whispered. She bowed her head, and then raised it again. "Please get me a signal to Naboo. I wish to speak with my husband."

* * *

"Meesa like it!" the Gungan said with an excited twitch of its oversized ears.

Kale Naberrie grinned and restrained an urge to pet the creature. He knew from past experience that the proud Gungans considered such action to be highly insulting, even if some of the younger of their species did act like oversized pets.

The elder, more dignified Gungans were much more practical and reserved. "Youssa is still youngin," the Gungan Boss said to the young male. Jar-Jar Binks was the Boss's name, and from what Kale understand he was famous among the Gungans. The only one of his kind to ever serve a term as Senator in the old Republic and into the Imperial Senate, Jar-Jar supposedly helped allay some of the tougher Imperial stances on Naboo, up until the murder of Queen Apailana. After that, Jar-Jar resigned the Imperial Senate in protest and returned to the pride and support of his people.

He was quickly elevated to Big Boss of the Gungans and served as such for forty-three years.

Jar-Jar turned ponderously to Kale Naberrie and grinned broadly. "Still, issa quite a sight! Youssa made one floomdagasser city for de Gungans!"

The site they referred to was the new surface city of the Gungans, the first since the Naboo colonized the planet. It rose majestically from the marshes and lakes that dotted the planet's surface. Water flowed everywhere among the rounded towers and sparkling domes. It was at once completely spontaneous, as were the Gungans themselves, and yet carefully planned. It was as far as he was concerned Kale's greatest achievement.

"It was an honor to work with you, Boss Binks," Kale said, sharing his grin.

Jar-Jar raised his equine chin, then lifted both large arms. "Dissa city is ours!" he called.

The thousands of Gungans before him raised their arms. "Ours!" they called back.

With that simple ceremony, the city was officially chartered. A Naboo official for the queen recorded the date chartered and nodded pleasantly. As she walked away, one of Kale's ministerial aides rushed forward from a speeder.

"Minister Naberrie!" the aid said.

Kale nodded to Jar-Jar and turned to face the young man. "Yes?"

"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you but your office has received an urgent holomessage from your wife. She told you to…" The young man swallowed as if bracing himself. "She said it could not wait and that she would hold until you returned. We tried to explain you were…"

The young aid stopped. There was no Kale listening, only a swirl of branches. He looked up in time to see a blur against the brilliant blue skies of Naboo.

Kale did not often fly over population centers. Speeders and jitneys were just as good for his needs and were not nearly as distracting for his people. But there were occasions when he needed to move fast. On those occasions, the Naboo openly stared but did not interfere. They knew Kale was their savior during the worst of the civil war, and an elected member over their government.

He came down just outside his building and bolted inside. His two secretaries started to say something, but he did not hear them as he rushed into his office. Just as his aide said, he could see the holographic image of his wife waiting for him. "He'd better not be much later," she was saying to someone off the image.

"I'm here!" Kale said as he stepped into the holoimager. As soon as he sat and saw her, he fell completely still. "Mara, what's wrong? You look ill."

"I am ill," Mara said without preamble. "But that's not why I'm calling. Kale, Jor is missing. He was flying with Kyp Durron's squadron when they were attacked by unknown hostiles. Kyp is the only one who survived. There's a lot going on. We think these hostiles are a possible invasion force. I encountered one at Belkadan and was infected with something. Corran said he could barely take the hostile. And Kale—its weapon cut Karia's arm. Not much, but just as much as a lightsaber would burn her."

Kale sank back into his chair, stunned. "Mara, this…."

"It's real, Kale," Mara said. "Han is sending out a task force to the planet Dubrillion. Jor was lost in the Helska System nearby. It has a red giant primary."

Kale had difficulty breathing. "What do you want me to do?" he asked softly.

She leaned forward. Although her image was small, her presence filled the room. "Kale, I love you. I supported you when we withdrew to Naboo. I understand why you chose not to fight in the rest of the Civil War. But this is not a civil war. This is our son. I'm not even sure if he's even…" She couldn't finish the sentence.

Kale bowed his head a moment and took a long breath. Then he stood, and grabbing hold of the Force he screamed silently into the void, _Jor-El!_

The call swept across the galaxy with the speed of thought. The whole fabric of the Force across the galaxy thrummed like a plucked guitar under the barrage of Kale Naberrie's call.

On Coruscant, Mara almost doubled over. Corran paled and collapsed to his knees, while Leia actually cried out.

Han reached for her. "Sweetie, what is it!"

Karia held her mother, but smiled at the general. She alone of the Jedi seemed unaffected. "It's my dad," the young apprentice explained. "He's calling for Jor in the Force."

Across the galaxy, Jedi of all ages felt the call. Apprentices collapsed in their classes while their teachers swayed. On Dubrillion, Kyp Durron heard the call, lost his balance and actually fell from the cockpit ladder of his fighter as he and Lando Calrissian's crews were trying to repair it.

In the icy heart of a dead planet, Danni Quee felt an intense pressure in the back of her skull, and a name: _Jor-El._

She looked up and saw Jor grinning wildly. He looked down at her, and his eyes widened. "You heard that?"

"What was it?"

"My father was calling me through the Force. I'm going to answer, but I'll have to do something to keep from hurting you." He laid a hand on her head, and she felt a wave of lethargy sweep over her.

Even with that lethargy, Jor's answer was so strong it caused black dots to appear before her eyes. _Dad, I'm alive! We're in an ice cave in the center of Helska, me and one other survivor from Belkadan. Danni says they came in from beyond the galactic rim. They are invaders!_

In the Temple, Jacen Solo was starting to pick himself when Jor's resounding answer shook him with near the same strength as his father's. "By the Force!" he said.

Kyle Katarn managed to retain his feet through sheer force of will, and grinned at the younger Jedi he had been sparring with. "You never really knew just who Jor was," Kyle said to the Solo twin. "Now you're starting to get a hint."

Mara, Corran, Karia and Leia all heard Jor's eager reply. Mara gasped in relief and Karia felt tears well in her eyes. "Would someone tell me what in the hell is going on?" Han demanded.

"Jor's alive," Leia whispered softly. "His answer was as strong as Kale's."

Then came a resolute, chilling call through the Force. _I am coming for you, Jor. Nothing will stop me._

The entire time, Kale Naberrie's image stayed on the holoemitter. He opened his eyes, and looked at his wife. "Mara Jade Naberrie, I promise with all the love I hold for you that I will get our son back. Do you believe me?"

Mara did not bother to wipe her eyes and grinned fiercely. "I believe you, Kale. I believe in you. I'll see you on Belkadan."

* * *

Prefect Da'Gara ran into the chamber of the War Coordinator and paled at what he saw. The yammosk was visibly twitching. One of the slaves charged with massaging its tentacles lay dead, while the other was entangled in those very tentacles and dying quickly.

The prefect did not hesitate and placed his hand on the coordinator. Instantly his mind was overwhelmed with anger, and something alien to the yammosks: fear.

Then he sensed what the yammosk felt. An alien thought intruded into the sacred chamber with such power as to cause it physical pain. It could not say what the message was, only that there was a reply to the message from within their advanced base itself.

_The infidel captives must be destroyed_. It was the clearest message Da'Gara could have hoped for, and he stepped back with a curt nod.

"It shall be done." He spun on his heel and motioned for his warriors to follow.

In the icy prison-cave, Danni was pacing. After so many days together, she hardly noticed her nudity. Jor did notice it, but found it easier to try and dismiss what the sight of her did to him. "Jor-El," she said. "Your name really is Jor-El. And your father called through the Force. Where are you from?" she asked.

"I'm from Naboo."

She froze. "Naboo. Jor-El. Jor-El Naberrie. You're Kale Naberrie's son."

"I am," Jor said. "And he's coming for us, Danni. He's going to save us both."

The water before them exploded as Yuuzhan Vong warriors burst out. They did not speak. They wielded their strange living staffs, and attacked Danni and Jor both. "Danni!" Jor called.

As happened during his more successful bouts in a cockpit, time slowed. He wove his way easily through the swinging staffs and wrapped one arm around Danni's waist to swing her away from the three blows that were about to impale her.

Those blows landed on Jor's bare back. He ground his teeth in pain as the micron-thick crystalline blades of the Yuuzhan Vong amphistaffs sliced the outer later of his skin, just enough to draw his blood.

"Stay in a corner," Jor whispered to her. He let her go and spun around to face their attackers.

If the Vong felt any trepidation over his speed, they did not show it. They attacked in a single unified front, ten strong.

Jor blocked the amphistaffs with a strong swing of his arm and then punched the nearest Vong with everything he had. His fist ground the strange living armor into dust and tore through the attacker's chest with a wet rip.

It flew backward and slammed into a wall before falling into a still heap. He pulled the Force and pushed with his mind to send the remaining warriors flying across the water. Two fell in without their protective gear and sank quickly from sight.

He crouched down in front of Danni, waiting for the next blow. The warriors regrouped quickly and began throwing objects at them. The objects actually accelerated in the middle of the throw, and Jor realized they were insects of some kind. Danni cried out as one slipped by Jor and sliced into her arm before burying itself into the ice and rock of the wall. It pulled itself out and started to fly away when Jor caught it.

He squeezed and the bug popped. He slowed his awareness down and realized each bug was a flying, living blade that could easily kill Danni. He had to stop them all. He pulled the Force to center his awareness, and began swatting the projectiles from the air, one after the other.

Some squished against his hand or against a far wall, while others somehow survived and returned to their masters only to be thrown again. They rarely survived a second swing. The warriors muttered in their guttural language a moment and then removed slightly larger insects.

"Danni, get right behind me," Jor said.

"Jor..?"

"Right behind me. I think they're about to upgrade their weapons."

He was right. The next bug exploded when Jor slapped at it. The force of the explosion tossed him off his feet and threw Danni down below him. He spun about and covered her as best he could.

"They won't hurt me," he said as he held her.

The bugs came, one after the other, exploding against his back. Despite what he told Danni, it did hurt. Each explosion burned his skin, but did not penetrate. The sound was deafening, though. He placed his hands over the hands already covering Danni's ears, but knew she would not hear well for some time.

Finally, the explosions ceased. Jor took a long breath and stood up to face them.

The warriors stared back, clearly stunned.

"My father is coming," Jor said to them. "He a thousand times stronger than I am. He can crack this whole planet in half. And he is coming for me."

The leader of aliens stepped forward. "I am Prefect Da'Gara of the Praetorite Vong. I salute a worth warrior. You would have made a great sacrifice for the gods. That I cannot kill you myself brings me shame. But your death brings honor to the Praetorite." With that he returned the star-shaped breather to his face, nodded to his surviving warriors, and jumped back into the water.

"They gave up too easily," Danni said into the sudden silence.

The water in the center of the cave bubbled. Overhead, water dripped down from the icy roof. A strange, slug-like creature suddenly appeared out of a hole in the center. Almost immediately they heard the whistle of air rushing through the hole in the roof. The water stared to rise.

"Of krif," Danni muttered.

"Hold on to me."

"Jor, I know we're naked, but this isn't the time."

He stared at her weak smile, and suddenly couldn't help but laugh. "You are beautiful, you know that?"

Danni shrugged. "I heard it mentioned once or twice."

"Come on."

She came to him, and he pressed her close as he called on the Force. The cold ice hit their bare feat and Danni yelped. Then she stared as the water receded away from her feet. "What…what are you doing?"

Jor shook his head in concentration. Around them, the rest of the cave began to fill with water. The water submerged and then extinguished the weak lights, leaving them in absolute black.

But around them the water stayed away. In fact, from Danni's perspective, it actually got warmer as Jor's intense body heat filled the area. "Jor, what is happening?"

"Something my father showed me," he said with obvious strain. The bubble was in place. "I don't know if I can keep it up forever, but this Force bubble should keep us dry. Now that I know father's coming, we have something to hope for."

"He's on Naboo, Jor," Danni said. "How can you keep this up for a week?"

"If I don't, you'll die," Jor said. "So I have to. For you."

He felt her body against his, and closed his eyes as he fought to keep his concentration on the Force bubble. That concentration thinned to dangerous levels when her hands sought his in the darkness, and her lips followed. It was the first time Jor had ever kissed a woman on the lips, and the effect was almost enough to make the bubble slip.

"Thank you," she said. "For saving my life."

"You're welcome," he said. "I really, really liked that. But if you do it again I think my bubble will burst."

Into the absolute darkness, he felt trembling beside him, then laughter. He realized then what he said, and joined her. The two stood in a sphere of air buried in the heart of a dead, icy world, and clung to each other in laughter.

* * *

Author's Response:

**The-Knight2000**--Thanks. Belkadan and Helska are just the beginning.

**Roosterman71**--He doesn't know where he would flee to, and he's not sure he could protect Danni if he did flee. So he's just trying to figure out what to do now.

Thanks to everyone for reading. I didn't get many reviews, but I got a respectable number of hits. Thanks!


	6. Sorry

Author's Responses at the End

**Chapter Six: Sorry**

Admiral Traest Kre'Fey did not like what he saw when the Bothan assault cruiser _Ralroost_ reverted to real-space in the Dubrillion System.

"We've got civilian traffic under fire," Leiutenant Arr'yka said from communications. "Signal coming in from the _Rejuvinator_."

Kre'Fey nodded.

A 2-D holoimage of a shaven-headed Correllian appeared. "This is Commander Rojo of the _Rejuvinator_. Admiral, it is a pleasure to see you."

"Likewise, Commander. Status?"

"We responded to Jedi Durron's distress signal and encountered heavy enemy resistance," Rojo said. "They are tough little buggers. They already attacked Dubrillion, but Calrisssian's security forces held the first time. Since then Calrissian has suffered major losses."

"And you?"

"I've lost half my fighters," Rojo admitted. "I also have hull damage and have lost two gunships. The enemy has some type of gravitic shielding that can take a lot of punishment. My squad leaders tell me if you vary fire intensity you can sometimes fool or wear down the enemy shields. But it's tough going."

Traest nodded as he absorbed the information. Both men turned when they heard Arr'kya gasp. "What is it?" Kre'Fey asked.

The lieutenant turned and stared with teeth bared. "We just received a military-wide alert. The planet Sernpidal has been destroyed. New Republic intelligence determined than an artificial gravity field pulled the smaller moon down on the planet. There were few survivors."

Traest growled. "Commander, our mission is to save as much of the civilian population as possible. I am launching all fighters. I will also send via holonet our situation to General Solo. I believe we are looking at a possible invasion."

"I would concur, Admiral," Rojo said. "Frankly, I thought I was going to sweep these vermin away. I'm lucky to still have my ship. Rojo out."

In the fighter bay, Colonel Inyri Forge pulled her helmet on. "Major Varth?" she called.

Major Alinn Varth checked in. "Flight two ready."

"Major Nevil?"

The Quarren male clicked a quick reply. "Flight 3 Ready."

"Rogues, let's go."

The most famous squadron of fighters in the New Republic burned out of the bays of the _Ralroost_ at full throttle and made straight for the unfolding battle.

* * *

The _Millennium Falcon_ came out of hyperspace over the world of Belkadan. Almost immediately, Han became aware of three things at once.

One, the Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Force had no business flying a freighter by himself when he had assets being engaged in the field. Two, Belkadan was a rusty brown wasteland of poisonous chemicals; and three, a very large, rocky-shaped object was directly in front of him firing large glowing balls of plasma at his ship.

"That's not good," he muttered.

"Han?" Leia asked. "Thinking about changing course any time soon?"

"Not all of us need the Force to fly, Sweetums," Han growled. He leaned his whole body forward into the controller. The _Falcon_ dipped down so abruptly that even with the inertial dampeners those in the cockpit felt the pits of their stomachs drop out. Han then corkscrewed and came out of the dive heading straight toward the pole of the planet, presenting the narrow port side to the enemy fire.

"Any volunteers for the quads?" Han called over the com.

From the rear of the ship, he heard three voices call out. "Oldest kids first, please," Han called back. Jaina and Jacen left Anakin pouting in the hold while one took the dorsal quads and the other took the ventral.

"Now listen up," Han said. "According to Durron the ships have some type of defense screen that just eats up your fire. Nothing keeps up screens like that forever. I want you to tone the quads down to one quarter percent. I'm going to route the remaining power into the front turbolasers. Let's see if we can do a one-two punch and fool those screens."

"We got it, Dad!" Jacen called.

"Wish Kale were here," Han muttered.

"He had further to travel," Mara pointed out.

"And no _Falcon_ to get him here," Leia added.

Swarms of small rock-like ships poured out of the enemy ship, which itself appeared to be the size of a frigate. "Here we go," Han said. He looked to Mara. "We're staying only as long as we can. I'm not going to get us all killed for nothing."

Mara nodded and slouched back in her seat. Karia reached across and held her hand.

Han ground his teeth at the sight of Mara Jade weak, and then turned his full attention to the enemy. "Leia, you'll handle the turbolasers and torpedoes."

"Done."

"What can I do?" Anakin called from the hold.

Han thought a moment as his elder children started peppering incoming ships with weak laser fire. "Go man the mine release," he said. "When I give the word, drop a mine. Set it for a timed release, three seconds."

"Right!" Anakin said with obvious enthusiasm.

"Mines don't do much in active combat," Mara pointed out.

"I work with what I have," Han said.

Any other father might have balked about bringing his two sixteen year olds and a fourteen year old on a possible combat mission. But no other father had children who could track an enemy with quad laser cannons the way Jaina and Jacen were doing. He watched as laser fire followed the path of fighter so perfectly that almost every shot hit, though most of the shots seemed to be absorbed by the strange shielding.

"Let's see if this gets its attention," Leia said. As soon as it flew in range she unleashed a barrage of heavy turbolasers. The fighter evaporated in a cloud of rock.

"I love this ship," Han muttered.

As swarm of fighters converged directly in front of him. He pulled up and yelled, "Anakin, now!"

"Mine away!" Anakin said.

"One," Han muttered as he corkscrewed the _Falcon_ up, around and then back down. "Two."

"Three," Leia finished.

The mine went off. A massive shockwave ripped through the rocky fighters, slicing up their strange shields as effectively as if they were normal Republic-made vessels.

As they came around Leia stared at the carnage. "Han, what kind of mines are those?"

"Seismic charges," Han said with a tight grin. "We found an old depot from the clone wars era on Muunilist a few years ago and they had a whole pallet of those babies. Naturally, I requisitioned them for the Falcon. You know how I like my toys."

"That made them angry," Karia noted.

The larger frigate was closing in on the Falcon as it fired dozens of plasma balls at them. The whole ship shuddered as the fire impacted the shields.

"Wow, those things have a punch," Leia said. "They continue to drain the shields even a few seconds after impact."

"Great," Han muttered.

"Fighters are closing," Jaina called.

"Anakin, reduce the time to two seconds and drop it!"

"Done and away!" Anakin called back.

Han pulled up and pushed the ship to its maximum acceleration. The mine struck and sliced through more fighters. But for every one destroyed, five more flew up to take their place.

"I can't keep this up much longer," Han muttered.

The ship suddenly lurched. "We just lost aft shields," Leia said incredulously.

"Just like Kyp reported," Han muttered. He snap-rolled the _Falcon_ suddenly right just as a barrage of plasma fire streaked through the space his ship occupied seconds before. "All right, we can't do this any more. We're heading out."

"New ship has just entered the system," Leia said. She grinned. "It's a Nubian ship."

The sleek, silver-surfaced ship soared not toward the _Falcon_ or the fighters, but at the frigate itself. Half the fighters broke off from the _Falcon_ to engage this new threat. The Yacht was so sleek that most shots did not come close, and those that did come close struck a glancing blow only against the slim ship's ablative armor.

"What's he doing?" Leia said.

"Doing what he does best," Han said. "He's going to go break something."

The enemy fire escalated as the Nubian yacht actually increased speed. Suddenly the Frigate concentrated fire into the space the incoming ship was going to cross. Plasma began to impact the ship again and again, stripping away shields and ablative armor. A hundred meters from the frigate, the shuttle exploded.

"Oh no!" Han heard Jaina cry over the com.

"It ain't over, sweatheart," Han called back.

He was right. Before he even finished the sentence, a slim figure shot out of the expanding cloud of gas like a torpedo. The figure shot through the strange gravitic shields of the enemy vessel and ripped directly through the hull.

"Did you see that?" Jacen cried out over the ship's com.

All fire from the enemy ship stopped. The individual fighters continued flying, but appeared to lose their precision and purpose. Realizing they were still in danger, Jacen and Jaina increased the power of their shots and opened fire on the fighters still flying behind the _Falcon_. They scored direct hits every time and soon the fighters erupted in clouds of debris.

The frigate began listing when suddenly on object burst from its side. Though too far to see with the naked eye, no one in the _Falcon_ had any doubt as to who it was. The frigate inexplicably began to spin length-wise around a central point. The few remaining fighters slowed, obviously stunned by this impossible sight.

Suddenly the frigate, at least five hundred meters long, shot toward the surface of the planet in an uncontrollable spin and an impossible speed. It struck the roiling atmosphere of Belkadan on its side and shattered like an egg dropped from upon high.

Jaina and Jacen had overcome their sense of shock and were aggressively pouring laser cannon fire into the surviving fighters. Han noticed with pride that his kids had reprogrammed the quad cannons to alternate power frequencies randomly. In short order, the remnant fighters died.

"Can I go let Dad in?" Karia asked into the sudden silence of the cockpit.

"Sure, kid," Han said. "I need to check in with the fleet anyway."

Karia left the cockpit and ran toward the dorsal airlock. Jacen and Jaina were just emerging from the quad laser turrets when she ran past. Anakin stood from his post by the mines. He smiled briefly at Karia until he saw his older siblings. "I got more than you," he said to Jacen with a wide grin.

Karia didn't listen to the pending argument as she opened the outer airlock. A moment later, a man-sized lift dropped down to reveal her father. She had never seen him in his black Kryptonian jumpsuit. The hard expression on his face and the sheer power he projected made her blink.

The image softened immediately when he saw her. "Karia!" he said.

He pulled her into a tight, lingering hug. "Tell me about your mom," he said. "What's this illness?"

"Something the enemy threw at her on Belkadan," Karia said. "Master Horn and I gave her all the Force power we could, and it slowed the disease down, but she's still weak. She tries to hide it, but I can feel it."

Behind her, the Solo children had stopped squabbling and were staring at Kale. "Uncle Kale," Jaina managed to say with a weak smile.

Kale studied all three. "You've grown up since I saw you last," he said gently. "Your parents must be very proud."

"We are," Leia said from the door leading to the cockpit. She stepped quickly across the hold and hugged Kale. "It is so good to see you again."

"And you. Where's Mara?"

"Here."

Mara stood exactly where Leia had stood a moment before. Kale was by her side faster than the Jedi could follow. Karia, used to her parent's overt affection, stifled an urge to cover her cousin's eyes when she saw how Jaina and Jacen blushed furiously and Anakin grinned stupidly.

"Nice to see you too," Mara said. "So now we know what it takes to get you off Naboo."

Kale shook his head, and the hard gleam returned to his eyes. "No joking about this." He looked up and saw Han coming behind Mara. "General," he said with odd formality. "What's our situation?"

Han shrugged and stepped past everyone. He moved past his wife, past his kids, and to a locked storage cabinet curving along the rear of the hold. He placed his palm against it and when it opened reached in to remove a bottle of Correllian whiskey and a single shot glass.

"That bad?" Leia asked.

Without turning his back, Han said, "The bastards pulled a moon down on Sernpidal. The whole planet's been cracked in half. Refugees are starting to flood the nearby systems, but even so we're looking at hundreds of millions dead." He took a long, deep breath and then downed three straight shots of the whiskey. He poured a forth before calmly placing the battle back into the locker.

Only then did he turn to face the others. His eyes sought and held Kale's. "What intelligence we've managed to gather is that these creatures call themselves Praetorite Vong. That's it. That's all the intelligence we have, and yet the Republic has already lost hundreds of millions of civilians. We're engaging them militarily at Dubrillion, but from what I understand Traest is having a hard time of it. They've caught us with our pants down."

Karia drifted toward her father, and he accepted her in one arm while holding her mother in the other. "My first order of business has to be Jor-El," he said. "I'm not in the Defense Forces any more. But once my son is safe, I will help you protect the refugees."

Karia saw Han's lip turn up. "This isn't a civil war," Han said. "We're not fighting our brothers and sisters who just happen to wear different uniforms. These are invaders who are killing millions of innocent people." His voice grew steadily louder until suddenly he threw his empty shot-glass across the room. Everyone there winced as the sound of shattering glass filled the air. Han took a deep, long breath.

"This isn't one you can sit out, Kale," Han finally said. "The Ssi-Ruuk, the Yevethans, the whole of the Civil War after the Emperor fell and then came back. You sat all these out. You said you didn't want to be a murderer, so you made the rest of us have to murder even more. You made us watch as our friends and loved ones died for years, so you could sit on Naboo and keep your kriffin' hands clean!"

The Solo children found themselves drifting to their mother. No one had ever seen Han Solo rage quite so strongly. In the end, Han must have realized he was screaming. He stopped and wiped a little spittle from his lips. "You can't sit this one out, kid," he finished at last.

Kale stood silently during the whole tirade, and finally nodded. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Han," he finally said.

Solo grunted. "Yeah, I bet you are." He strode back across the floor. "We're going to Dubrillion first. That's close enough that you can take a shuttle to Helska. But I need to know what my ships are up against. I know you're worried about your boy. I am too. But my duty to the Republic has to come first."

* * *

A great big thanks to all the reviews!

**Kahless21**--No worries, just glad to have you reading.

**The-Knight2000**--Kale is a Jedi and a Kryptonian who's been sucking up gentle yellow Nubian sunlight for decades. He is at his peak.

**Rhett1980**--I'm glad to have you reading. I posted on boards first and discovered after the fact. Now I make sure to post everything simultaneously. Keep in mind regarding the half-breeds that the way genetics works is you either are, or aren't. The Kryptonian gene is dominant, so Kale and Karia are essentially fully Kryptonian. They just haven't been soaking up yellow sunlight for fifty years like their dad.

I don't own many comic books, but I own Kingdom Come. Truly an awesome piece of art and storytelling.

**gold**--Thank you.

**dajohu**--I admit I was cracking myself up. I was afraid it was too cheesy, but I just couldn't help myself.

**Frostbyte06**--Thank you, I appreciate it. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.

**wawaboy2**--I just couldn't write a continuation of the same story. The Legacy trilogy was done. So this was written almost as much about his children as he and Mara. But also about the consequences of a hero refusing to play the part of a hero.

**Roosterman71**--:)

**Daryl**--You might see a few surprises yet ;)

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!


	7. The Theatre of War

AN/AR At The end.

* * *

**Chapter Seven: The Theatre of War**

The _Falcon_ bucked violently as she came out of hyperspace near Dubrillion. Instantly the dark skies outside the cockpit of the _Falcon_ exploded into a cacophony of color, scintillating between red, green and orange.

"By the Force," Leia whispered.

They could see ships launching from the burning surface of Dubrillion under escort from X-wing and Y-wing fighters, while heavier B- and K-wing fighters flew a second line of defense. Even before the small convoy of ships left the atmosphere, the strange, rocky fighters of the enemy darted in and opened up with their balls of plasma energy.

Nearby, four frigate-sized enemy ships continued to engage the _Ralroost_, _Rejvuinator_ and the two capital ships' escort craft. The space between the two sets of ships burned with heavy fire. Even with the naked eye Han could see ships flare and then fade into dust as they died.

"New Republic Defense Forces, this is General Solo," Han announced over the com. "Senior officers report."

"This is Kre'fey, General," the Bothan admiral said. "Please forgive me if I am brief. I have a few things dividing my attention."

"I'll bet you do. Traest, the _Obi-Wan_ and _Defender_ are en route with escort and support ships. They should be here in about two hours."

"That's welcome news, General." The Admiral's voice was lost in static. Han looked up and saw the shields around the _Ralroost_ glimmer against an enemy onslaught. As soon as the barrage ended, his voice cleared. "Things are becoming somewhat unpleasant out there, General. Might I suggest you come aboard?"

One of the supporting New Republic gunboats flared out and split in two under concentrated Vong fighter fire. A nearby B-wing began tumbling wildly through space as its primary foil vaporized under enemy plasma. "I might at that," Han said.

Docking was easier said than done. With Jacen and Jaina once more on the quad lasers and Leia once more on the heavy turbolasers, Han wove and dove and blasted a path through enemy ships when suddenly they heard something. "What is that?" Han said with a note of panic on his voice. "What is crawling on my ship?"

Just then Karia arrived. "Dad's going out to see what's going on," she announced.

Han shrugged and continued flying as best he could. Finally he saw the _Ralroost_'s hangar bay doors open. "Coming in!" he announced to the _Ralroost,_ his cockpit, and the galaxy in general.

The _Falcon_ soared through the shields of the Bothan heavy assault cruiser and slowed immediately. Han was out of seat the second the engines started to cool down. He ignored everyone as he ran to the loading ramp and dashed out. Bothan officers stood staring up and Han turned to see Kale Naberrie standing on top of his ship with a meter-long insect gripped in one hand. The insect was kicking giant rear legs and flapping its wings in an attempt to get away. Kale simply held it in place as he hopped lightly down from the top of the converted freighter.

"These were launched by the enemy fighters," Kale said. "You have some hull damage where they chewed through. I got them as fast as I could." He turned to the bay technicians. "These things need to be studied. Do you have any shield containment areas? It will eat through any other material."

"We have hypermatter storage cubes," one of the technicians said. "That's held in a magnetic stasis field."

"That should do," Kale said.

Han watched as Kale walked away. He turned at a presence expecting to find Leia. Instead he found himself facing Mara Jade. "Look, Mara…"

She slapped him. The blow stung as if she struck him with a closed fist. Her eyes flashed dangerous as she let her hand drop. Even so, she still swayed from the effort. Leia was there almost instantly, but Han waved her off.

"If it was Anakin or Jacen, you'd be in Helska by now," Mara said softly.

"If it were my son, he wouldn't have been there to begin with," Han snapped back with a growl. He looked at his wife for a moment, then back to Mara. "Take the _Falcon_," he said at last. "You and Leia, and the others. Take it and get your boy. My place is here with my command."

The fire banked somewhat in Mara's glare. Offering the ship that had served as his mobile command platform and personal transport for over a quarter of a century was as significant a peace offering as he could make, and she knew it. She nodded. "Thank you."

Han shrugged. "I have a weak spot for ladies who beat the stars out of me."

Under her breath, Leia said, "I'll remember that."

Han grinned tightly and then turned and jogged toward the nearest turbolift. Mara turned and found herself an inch from Leia's steely glare. "That is the last time you lay a finger on my husband," she said.

"Mom?" Karia said.

Leia looked from Mara to Karia, noticing the fear and worry in the younger girl's eyes. "Don't worry, Karia," Leia said. "We're family. We're supposed to fight."

Karia didn't believe it for a second, but neither she nor her mother commented as they climbed back into the Falcon. A few minutes later Kale returned. He climbed up the ramp. "I heard Han is loaning us the Falcon," he said as he arrived in the cockpit.

He looked at Leia, then Mara, then finally his daughter. "I see," he said with forced lightness. "It's a one of those kinds of days. I get that. Are we leaving?"

"We're leaving," Leia said shortly.

"I'm going to ride shotgun," Kale announced. "The least we can do is take some of the pressure off the refugees and Han's people."

Leia didn't ask what Kale meant as he left the cockpit. A moment later, Jacen announced that he could see Kale sitting on the upper hull of the ship. "I guess that's what he meant," Leia said. "Han, do you copy?"

Her husband's voice came through loud and clear. "Copy. I've set up command here. You're clear to launch. Get clear of the theatre as fast as you can and watch out for those bugs."

"Don't worry, Han," Leia said. "I'll take care of her."

"I know you will, Sweetheart. I love you."

"I know. I love you too. See you soon."

"You'd better. Solo out."

The _Falcon_ lifted off the hangar deck and drifted toward the shields. Beyond it, space still blazed with the battle. The moment they left the safety of the _Ralroost_ they came under fire again as a wedge of Vong fighters in perfect precision swept past the nose of the heavily modified freighter.

"Punch it," Leia said from Han's seat. This time, Mara flew co-pilot while Karia and Anakin sat in the navigator and weapons seats. Like his siblings, Anakin knew the Falcon almost as well as his father, and because of his unique mechanical aptitude in the Force, in some ways he knew it even better.

Unlike Han, Leia did not have any natural aptitude to flying. She did, however, have the Force as her ally. The Force whispered to her of dangers fast approaching, and sped her reflexes in order to meet those dangers.

"Wow," Leia heard Anakin whisper. She turned to her left and saw Kale walking on the surface of the _Falcon_ as if it were a nice afternoon on Alderaan, rather than the depths of space. He moved to the very edge of the right loading arm that housed the heavy turbolaser and squatted down like a sprinter about to launch.

Leia understood. "Okay, closer," she said.

"What?" Anakin said. The _Falcon_ turned abruptly toward the four enemy frigate-analogues. "Mom, uh, didn't dad say to fly away from the battle?"

Around them, two Republic gunboats died in billows of flame. "When have I ever listened to your father?" Leia said.

"We have fighters on our tail," Jacen announced.

Just outside the transparisteel windows of the cockpit, Leia watched as Kale stood back up and turned to face the enemies behind him. He reached out a single hand, and everyone on the ship felt the surge of Force energy.

"Okay, we have fewer fighters on our tail," Jacen said in open awe.

A moment later, they felt another surge. "Make that none," Jaina said.

Outside, Kale squatted back down as if about to pounce. The ship started to buckle and groan as Leia twisted it around approaching plasma fire. Somehow Kale held on. Reaching a point he liked, Kale suddenly shot off the front of the ship like a torpedo toward the nearest of the frigates.

"Okay," Leia said. "Now we get out of the main line of fire." She spun the Falcon up, over and away from the frigate-analogues and started flying out of the main theater.

Suddenly the whole sky lit up. Leia brought the Falcon around just on the edge of the battle and even from their distance she could see the _Rejuvinator_ blow. The _Imperial_-II class star destroyer erupted first along its port and starboard lines. The hypermatter reactor's demise split the great vessel in two main pieces that blew apart from each other. The front section, still trailing fingers of flame into the vacuum, slammed into one of its only remaining gunships, while the aft portion began tumbling toward the planet below.

"By the Force," Leia whispered.

On the other side of the battle, one of the enemy frigates suddenly shuddered and lost station-keeping. The whole ship seemed to swing along its aft point as the bow of the ship swung up and over directly amidships of the frigate beside it. Both ships broke open like shattered boulders. There was little flame-out until the main plasma cannons ruptured their lines. Both ships abruptly exploded.

Just minutes later Kale hovered outside the _Falcon's _cockpit. He motioned for the dorsal airlock and disappeared overhead.

"We'd better get going as soon as he's aboard," Mara said.

Leia nodded, but couldn't keep her eyes off the now lonely object that was the _Ralroost._

* * *

"The _Falcon_ is away, General," one of Traest's aids said in open awe. "Two enemy frigates destroyed."

Han nodded. He set up his command station toward the rear of the Bothan's bridge. His idea was to let Kre'fey do his job, for which the Admiral was grateful. Han's job was the overall management of the situation.

"General Solo," Admiral Etahn said over the holonet. "I am pleased to announce the _Obi-Wan_ should be with you shortly."

Around Solo, the _Ralroost_ shivered under enemy fire. "Good to hear. We've lost the _Rejuvinator._ Two enemy frigate-analogues have been destroyed, but two remain. We are taking heavy fire and are loosing civilians."

"Understood, General. Rest assured, we're almost there!"

Han stared at the holographic strategy board, and then something clicked. "Etahn, drop out before you reach the system!"

"General?"

"Drop out of hyperspace now!"

The Dornean blinked his large black eyes, and then the image in the console to Han's right blinked. "Very well, General. We've dropped out of hyperspace."

"Good. I have an idea. Here's what I need your people to do."

Ten minutes later, the _Ralroost_ began pulling away from Dubrillion with the last civilian transports amid brutal enemy fire. The two frigates began pulling out of the nearby asteroid belt where they had retreated following Kale's intervention. The capital ships began unleashing massive volleys of plasma while intercepting return fire with apparent ease. The frigates had just left the last tugs of the planet's gravity when the _Obi-Wan_ and _Defender_ dropped out of hyperspace. The moment the two destroyers dropped from hyperspace they unleashed a full volley of assault concussion missiles in addition to an intense barrage of turbolaser fire.

The two frigate-analogues shuddered under the barrage, but like the fighters the strange ship shields seemed to be able to absorb much of the punishment. Missiles disappeared and turbolaser fire actually changed direction to be sucked into the odd pockets of nothingness surrounding the ship. However, the barrage was so intense that some shots did get through and large pieces of the rocky surface blew off into space.

In the exact moment the first barrage of turblasers and concussion missiles struck, two squadrons of X-wings dropped out of hyperspace directly behind the enemy ships and fired every proton torpedo in their arsenal.

The Praetorite Vong ships could not simultaneously shield against the heavy barrage from the New Republic capital ships and the torpedoes launched from behind them. The torpedoes struck the yorrik coral without hindrance and began blowing large pieces of the still-tough hulls apart.

The enemy shields immediately weakened as dovin basils attempted to determine which threat was greater. The shifting of the shields allowed more heavy turbo-laser fire to penetrate the enemy defenses. A yellow line formed along the port side of an enemy ship, glowing more and more brightly until at last the chemical fuel used by the living plasma cannons exploded in a brilliant flash of light that ended the life of that ship.

All guns turned onto the remaining vessel. It attempted to retreat only to find itself cut off by a flight of B-wings wielding torpedoes, laser cannons and concussion missiles.

The second Vong capital ship flared brilliantly in its death throes. The individual fighters soon followed, leaving the theatre of war empty.

Han straightened. He heard a muffled clapping and turned with surprise to see Traest Kel'frey and the rest of the Bothan bridge crew applauding. "A brilliant stratagem," Traest said as he left his command chair to join Solo. "Now we know how to destroy their capital ships."

"Assuming we have a numerical advantage," Han said. He switched channels and a three dimensional image of Wedge Antilles appeared. The general was actually in his flight suit. "Wedge, where are you?"

"En route with the rest of the 5th Fleet," Antilles said. "It took some fast talking to get the Defense Minister to authorize the movement. Looks like we're two hours out."

Han nodded. He activated another switch and Etahn's face appeared next to Wedge's. "Gentlemen, I don't like what I saw here. We lost a lot of good people to an unprovoked attack. The fact these ships were powerful enough to hold off two of our best for as long as they did, and even take one out entirely, tells me we are facing a dangerous enemy."

"So we're going to kill them first?" Wedge said, reading his fellow Corellian's mind.

"Damn right," Han said. "We're going to establish a forward firebase on Dubrillion. I don't know why this area of space was selected, but according to what the Jedi said, this appears to be a true extragalactic invasion. If this is the spot they're coming through, then this is the spot we're going to meet them at. When Antilles and the rest of 5th Fleet arrive, we are going to Helska."

"How many ships will we take?" Etahn asked.

Han blinked, and then grinned evilly. "Every last one. I'm going to wipe these bastards from the galaxy."

* * *

**dajohu**--Kale's one strength is also his weakness. Han's rant will help to a cerain extent, but not as much as the general hopes.

**Goldenrat**--Obviously I did too, but on the other hand if I were Han, Corran, Wedge or even Leia and saw this incredible weapon on our side just walk away, I'd be upset.

**darthridian**--Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it, and you're right that even with all his power, he can't do everything. But this story is just getting started--we have a long way to go!

**Relyan**--Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

**Roosterman71**--My Han is not a pansy. He's not going to get drunk for months over a friend's death, no matter how beloved. He's going to do everything in his power instead to ensure those responsible for that friend's death pay. I like my hand better than the canon Han. ;)

**The-Knight2000**--Thank you. We'll see a little more Kryptonian-inspied chaos throughout the story. Like I said before, this is basically just the beginning.

Thank you all for reading. I hopey ou continue to enjoy!


	8. Heroes

A/N and A/R at the end. Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Heroes**

Danni listened to the young man's gasping, and clung to him a little tighter. "Are you okay?" She whispered softly.

He made a motion with his head that could have been either a nod or a shake, and nothing more. His breathing came in ragged gasps as he fought back the cold waters around them.

Thirst was not a problem, but her stomach hurt from lack of food. She could feel her ribs protruding, and her limbs trembled any time she tried moving.

There was rock under them. This was their only relief—that they did not have to stand. At some point, they both had laid down on the cold, bitter rock. She let him spoon against her for warmth, and let his arm hang over her. There they remained, conserving energy and warmth.

There was no way to track the days. There was no way to determine where they were—only that there was darkness and cold and death all around them.

At first Danni was sure she was going to die of thirst, until she felt Jor guide her hand to the edge of his Force bubble. Somehow, her hand passed through into the numbing cold of the water. She pulled her hand out, and drank. The water was brackish, but potable. She drank.

The hunger, however, she had no solution for. The hunger pains became so intense she cried. Her stomach growled angrily with need. And then there was waste. Though she had no bowel movements, she had plenty of urine. She relieved herself against the edge of the Force bubble. Somehow, though, the air never smelled of the urine for long. The bubble moved to expose the fluid to the icy water.

She chose not to consider the fact this was the same water they were drinking. The dilution had to be sufficient enough make it safe.

During the first few hours (or days—she couldn't say for sure), Jor was still able to speak to her without losing his concentration. He spoke to her about growing up on Naboo. About how much he looked up to his father, and how hard it was to arrive at Coruscant and realize that no one else shared that respect.

He admitted how lonely it was, being the son of Kale Naberrie.

He spoke about his mother, and his sister Karia. "You'd like her," he said. Because of the way they laid, he spoke almost into her ear. "She's brilliant. Scored top tier on every standardized test for kids twice her age."

"Is she strong like you?" Danni asked.

She felt him nod. The motion of his chin shuffled the lank strands of her hair. "Not quite as strong, but stronger than anyone else in the galaxy. And there are other things she can do better. She got some of her powers before me, and developed some I don't even have."

"That must have been amazing, growing up in your family."

"It was different," Jor said. "The only time we had family over was when our cousins would show up. Every time they were in danger or there was a kidnapping plot, Aunt Leia would bring all her kids to Naboo for dad to watch them. No one bothered them there, ever."

It was a mark of her exhaustion and hunger that Danni did not immediately realize that Jor was talking about the Solo family, perhaps the only family more famous than the Naberries. While the Naberries were well known, the Solos were still famed leaders of the Republic and the Jedi Order and more often in the public eye.

His hand shifted, and accidentally brushed against her nipple. "I'm sorry!" he gushed. She could feel a rush of heat from his cheeks.

She reached up and took the offending hand in hers. "It's okay," she said. Then she grinned. "I'd let you feel more, but I'm afraid your bubble would burst."

She heard a mild snip and knew he was grinning. "Yeah, that would do it."

After a time, though, the effort of maintaining the Force bubble grew too great for him to talk to her, and the pain of her hunger became too great for her to respond. They lay in silence, in positions more intimate than any Danni had ever known during her short life, yet with nothing on either of their minds than just sheer survival.

She tried her best to go over all the things she had learned from the Vong. About their invasion route. About their strange weapons and apparent thirst for blood. Then she thought about her own life growing up on Commenor, about the day her parents announced they were divorcing. She remembered the first time her mother took her to the Extragalactic Society's office on Commenor and she saw the brilliant images of the twenty-eight galaxies in their local galactic cluster.

"The odds that this galaxy is the only one inhabited by intelligent life is negligible," the kind old Exgal scientist told the impressionable young woman. Darket, his name was. "Our goal here is to be ready when those other galaxies send their children to us."

She joined the society the very next year at fifteen with a scholarship and her mother's blessings. She was so lonely at first, but the other ExGal members welcomed her with open arms. She arrived at Belkadan three years later. And three years after that, she found herself laying on a stone slab slowly starving to death in the arms of a beautiful young hero.

"Jor, I know you can't answer," she said then. "I just wanted to let you know, live or die, that you are a hero. Thank you for everything you've done."

She felt his lips move against her ear. "I'm just glad you're a woman," he said weakly. "If you were a man, this would be REALLY awkward!"

Danni laughed, but the laughter faded into tears. She pulled his trembling hand to her lips and simply held it there as she wept.

* * *

The _Falcon_ arrived just on the edge of the Helska System. Kale was sitting in the navigation seat behind Mara, while the Solo kids hovered around the outrigger cockpit's entrance just over Karia's shoulder.

The red sun glowed sullenly in the far distance. Mara turned and looked at her husband. "I can feel it," he admitted. Beside him, Karia nodded too. The feeling was like stepping into a much higher gravity field. She felt heavy for some reason. In fact, it made her feel sleepy.

"Are you okay?"

Karia blinked and looked at her mother. "I'm just tired," she said.

"Let's leave the cockpit," Kale said.

Karia nodded and the two stepped into the better protection of the ship's hold. Anakin followed while Jacen and Jaina took their seats.

"What's wrong?" Anakin asked.

"The light of red stars do not agree with us," Kale said.

Karia collapsed onto a bench. "Is it this bad for you?" she asked her father.

"I've been soaking up Naboo's sun for almost forty years," Kale said. "My batteries are all charged. You've only had fourteen years."

Mara emerged from the cockpit a moment later. She face was pale and Kale noticed sweat gathered at her brows. "Does this change your plans?" she asked him.

"It's not as bad as at the Valley of the Jedi," he said. "This star's output is considerably less. I don't know if I want to engage in any battles, but if Leia can get us close enough to the surface I think I can get them."

Anakin looked from one to the other. "What are you going to do, fly through the planet?" He said it with a laugh.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm going to do," Kale said without pause. "The fact that Jor hasn't tried to escape means that he's trying to protect that other survivor. Danny, he said his name was?"

Mara nodded mutely.

"So it falls to me to get them out," Kale finished.

"We've already got traffic," Leia said over the ship's come. "I'm going to jump to the other side of the star system and come in from the sunward side."

Kale winced but nodded. "Anakin, do you have any radiation suits?"

"Just one," the young Solo said.

"Get it for Karia," he said.

"Dad," Karia said. "You're going to need that. If you go out there too close to the sun you'll lose your power before you even reach the surface. I can handle being a little sick for a while. But Jor's going to need you at full strength."

Mara stepped around where Anakin stood and sat by her daughter. She took the young woman's hand. "She's right, Kale. You can't afford to let yourself be weakened any more than necessary."

Kale stared at his daughter intently. She may have had her mother's red hair, but her eyes were the same exact shade of bright blue as his. "Karia, are you sure about this? Leia is going to have to bring the _Falcon_ around dangerously close to the star. The ray shields only keep out radiation dangerous to humans. It will hurt you like nothing you've ever felt."

"Then I'll hurt," Karia said with a resolute angle of her jaw that reminded Kale so much of Mara it almost brought a tear to his eye.

He leaned forward and hugged her. "Until you have children of your own, you will never know just how proud I am of you, and how very much I love you."

"Just make sure Jor knows you love me more," Karia said with a wicked smile.

"You are so much my daughter," Mara said with a tired laugh.

Kale stood and looked to a mystified Anakin. "That radiation suit?"

As Leia jumped to the other side of the Helska system and then began her approach to the red giant star, Kale pulled on the bulky radiation suit. When he had everything on but the helmet, he studied Anakin closely.

"Take care of them," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see. Mara needs to go into a healing trance. She may not even have a choice in the matter. And Karia—she's going to need a hand to hold."

Anakin nodded solemnly. "I'll be there for her."

Kale smiled. "I know you will, son. You are your parent's boy."

He pulled the helmet on, stepped into the dorsal airlock lift, and disappeared into the roof. When Anakin returned to the hold, he paused at what he saw. Jaina was kneeling beside an unconscious Mara while Karia held her mother's head in her lap.

Anakin approached and noticed that Karia was sweating. Though he'd known her for almost his entire life, he had never, ever seen her sweat. "What's wrong?"

"Mother passed out," Karia said.

"I've put her into a healing trance," Jaina said. "She's so sick. I'm not sure she should have come. Come on, let's get her to a bunk."

Rather than try to carry their aunt, the two used the Force to levitate her gently from the main room's couch to one of the small cabins that lined the ship. Anakin realized with a start that it was his cabin they went to. "I'll stay with her," Jaina offered.

Anakin nodded and left the room. He felt the ship shift slightly under his feet and knew instinctively they were in the gravity well of the star. As he emerged into the main hull, Karia was bent over gasping in pain.

He rushed to her side and pulled her into a hug.

"It hurts," she whimpered. She collapsed against him until her head rested on his thigh and curled into a fetal position.

Anakin gently rested a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay," he said, though he knew it wasn't. He didn't know what else to say. Instead, he sent healing to her through the Force, and strength. The worst of her sobs faded, but he could still feel her trembling in pain.

"Thank you, Nerfherder," she whispered.

"You're welcome, Hutt slime," he said softly.

Over the com, Anakin heard his mother's voice announce that they were coming toward Helska. "We've already been spotted," she said. "It's going to be a rough ride."

They heard the hull reverberate as Kale left the safety of the airlock. "Think he'll be able to do it?" Anakin asked.

He felt Karia's head nod. "My father is a hero," she said. "He'll be able to save them."

Anakin opened his mouth with a smart retort. He'd overheard many private conversations between his parents that would contradict his cousin's belief. But there, at that moment with her curled up in pain, he dismissed them all. "Yes, he is," he said.

* * *

Kale stepped onto the hull of the _Falcon_ and tried his best to disregard the fire burning through the suit. The radiation suit helped dull some of the effects of the red sun, but there was no question that it hurt him.

Ahead, though, he saw the icy ball that entombed his boy. There would be no pain, no agony great enough to keep him from his goal. He ignored the coralskippers darting toward the _Falcon_. He ignored the fleet of frigate-analogues that orbited the planet. The only thing he cared about was his son.

He stepped to the very tip of the _Falcon_ and turned to look back at the outrigger cockpit. Through the transparisteel he could see Leia and Jacen at the main controls. He raised a hand to them, and in the Force, sent to them, _I will reach out to you when it is time. _

Inside the cockpit, Leia nodded.

With that, Kale faced forward, crouched down like a sprinter, and launched himself forward at the speed of light.

* * *

Prefect Da'Gara growled his rage. Beside him, Prefect Ma'Shraid said nothing, but she also watched as the face on the vilip continued to report.

Four of their _Ro'il chuun m'arh_ were lost, along with uncounted warriors and _yorik-et_. But most disturbing were the images taken from the last two frigates at Durbillion.

Da'Gara's rage faded as the vilip flattened to show images magnified many times. These images showed a single humanoid creature twirling a _Ro'ik chuun m'arh_ as if it were a toy. The ship was over four hundred meters long and yet this single creature—this horrid abomination—swung it like an amphistaff into the back of another ship, destroying both.

"The Warmaster must be made aware of this," Ma'Shraid said.

"Agreed," Da'Gara said quietly. "What twisted shaper created such a creature as could do such things?"

A warrior stepped into the room and snapped an arm to attention. "Prefect, an infidel ship has been spotted in the System. It matches the description of the blasphemer called Solo."

Da'Gara growled under his breath. "Solo. The leader of our enemies at Dubrillion. Destroy it!"

The warrior snapped a salute and left. Moments later, the two prefects felt a summoning and ran to the yammosk. The creature was writhing in its waters, clearly agitated. It communicated telepathically with both of them.

The two Prefect's eyes widened in realization. "The infidels cannot still live," Da'Gara sputtered. "The male was strong, yes, but there is no air. Surely they would have died by now!"

"Not if the male is the scion of the one at Dubrillion," Ma'Shraid pointed out.

"Prefect," a warrior called from the edge of the room. "Something approaches the planet. It moves near the speed of light but is too small to be a fighter."

"Destroy it," Da'Gara said unthinkingly. Then he paused when he felt the terrible truth from the war coordinator.

* * *

Danni passed out. She could not have said for how long. In the utter darkness, time lost meaning. She only awoke when she felt Jor shudder beside her though, and heard him rasp out a word. "Dad!"

Then she felt it, that terrible pressure in the back of her mind. This time Jor did not have the strength of concentration to shield her. "_Jor, I'm almost there_!" a voice said clearly in her mind. It was so clear she could almost swear the speaker was in the bubble with them. "_Show me where you are_!"

She felt Jor struggling to maintain the Force bubble and reach out to his father. His fatigue was terrible. Unconsciously, Danni emulated his mental cries. "_We're here_!" she said both aloud and in her mind.

She felt surprise in her mind, and then a much softer touch. "_You are Danni_," the voice said. It no longer hurt her. "_The Force is with you. Is Jor-El alright_?"

"_He's been holding back the water since you last contacted us_."

She could feel the surprise, and then a surge of pride. "_Danni, I'm coming for you both. I'll be there in minutes._"

"_We're not going anywhere_," Danni thought with wry, desperate humor.

* * *

A hundred coral-skippers descended on the approaching object. Plasma fire filled the sky, but the incoming target was so small, and so fast, none could hope to hit it.

Kale Naberrie bunched his fists and stretched his arms out in front of his head. Sacrificing the air in the suit, he summoned his unique power and unleashed the full force of his heat vision as he approached the icy surface of Helska. In his mind he felt the presence of his son burning like a beacon, next to the less luminous but still discernable presence of Danni.

At five hundred kilometers his heat vision diffused into broad, overlapping columns that struck the surface of the planet and immediately blew off clouds of steam into space. As he quickly approached the columns of heat intensified and began vaporizing the ice. Kale struck the surface going a third the speed of light, having slowed to allow his heat vision to do its work.

As the stunned Vong scurried about inside and out of the planet to try and stop him, Kale bore through the ice like a mining laser. He flew almost unimpeded through the melting ice and vaporized rock sediments, toward the shining presence of his son.

He could sense the outline of a cave, but the water within it had begun to freeze save for only a few square feet around his son's Force bubble. Kale re-melted it all as he burst into the cavern.

* * *

Danni heard Kale's approach before she saw it. The vibrations of his passage reverberated through the ice and water. Then she saw a distant red glow. It was the first light she had seen in a week, and she stared at it incredulously as she clasped Jor's hand.

The light grew in intensity until it hurt for her to look, and yet she looked anyway. Finally the light became visible beams that burned through the ice right next to them. A shadowy figure followed, lit only by the red heat pouring from his eyes. Everywhere he looked ice melted away. Then the water receded as he held out a hand. She felt a surge in her mind, like a massive change of air pressure, as the water dropped back to the level it was a week before.

The figure stepped toward her, his features lost in shadow. However, she felt his presence in her mind. Then Jor's Force bubble collapsed. She took a deep breath as the shadow figure knelt down beside her. "Can you stand?" he asked aloud.

She tried to shake her head, but she could not. She tried to speak, but no words emerged. Gently, he lifted her into his arms.

"Son, can you stand?"

In the darkness she could not see, but she heard a rough voice whisper, "I don't think so, Dad."

"Then I'll carry you both," Kale Naberrie said without hesitation. "Come."

Danni felt herself shifted to one arm, as if she were a child. It was a sensation she had not felt since her father left her many years before. For the very first time since her capture, she felt utterly, completely safe in his grip. Somehow, she knew nothing could harm her in the crook of his arm.

Suddenly they were moving, faster than she had ever moved before. She saw shadows and glints of light through the ice, and then they were on the surface of a dark, icy planet. She looked down and around at the brilliant stars of the galactic rim, and the many galaxies so clearly visible this far out. Just like in the icy planet, she could breathe easily. She felt no cold, only the warmth emanating from the man beside her.

Suddenly bathed in red light from the distant star, she saw her savior was wearing a radiation suit, but his helmet was off. He had a strong face, with lean cheek bones and hair so black it could almost have been blue. She saw Jor's features in his. He grimaced as the red light struck his face, but did not falter.

Then she noticed Jor in his other arm. The young man was crying silently in pain. His body almost seemed to be going through convulsions and was reddening even as she looked at him. "The _Falcon_ is coming for us, Jor," Kale Naberrie said. "Hang on, Son."

Danni didn't have the strength to ask what was wrong.

She saw the coral-skippers welling up from the surface of the planet behind them and the fleet of larger ships coming around the edge of the world. She wondered briefly it Kale could fly them all the way to Coruscant, but then realized he wouldn't have to.

A rather unremarkable freighter approached from the stars ahead. It looked like an old YT-1200 or 1300 series freighter. As it approached it presented its dorsal side to them. A ring of light erupted from the top of the ship and it was to this Kale took them.

She clung to him as they dipped into the ship. A moment later a lift dropped her into the hold of a ship and artificial gravity. The light of the interior burned her eyes, but what she could make out was the serious face of a handsome young man with dark hair and brown eyes.

She should have been embarrassed by her lack of clothing, but she was too tired and too weak to care. Without having to be asked, the young man grabbed a blanket from a nearby locker and wrapped it around her shoulders. Released from Kale's grip, she fell.

Arms that were strong in a merely mortal sense caught her. "I've got you," the young man said. He carried her through the narrow, twisting halls of the ship until they arrived at what had to be an infirmary. He placed her gently on the bed. Around them, she heard the ship thrum, and then jolt as something hit them.

"What's your name?" the young man asked.

"Danni," she managed to croak out.

"Danni, my name is Jacen Solo. You're safe now."

She believed him, and quickly drifted off to blessed, peaceful darkness.

* * *

**Dajohu**--It was short. This one was going to be even shorter when I realized how irritated even I was by a post with only a few pages, so I rearranged some chapter blocks to make this post about twice as long. And you're spot on regarding how the NJO just _wasted_ Han Solo. In this story, Han rocks. Period. End of Story.

**The-Knight2000**--Lots of carnage makes for good times. As some might have guessed, the first part of this story does parallel Vector Prime, but only up to a certain point. Thereafter it's a free-fr-all.

**David Sunrider**--Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I will admit that I am going sans beta on this one. I have three stories going simultaneously, I love all three, and I find I'm producing quite a bit. Frankly, my Beta got burned out and the new one is pretty much consumed by my SW/HP cross. So please forgive the occasional typo. I do try to read through, so I hope they aren't too distracting.

Thanks for reading and for your support!

DM


	9. Superman Returns

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Superman Returns**

Kale gratefully let Jacen take Jor's charge back to the infirmary. He saw Karia sitting up on the bench next to Anakin. Her eyes were swollen with tears and sweat beaded on her flushed forehead. In his arms, Jor moaned. "Dad?" Karia asked.

"He got a full dose of the sunlight," Kale said. "He was already weakened." The ship jolted under Vong fire. "Anakin, where's Mara?"

"She's with Jaina in my cabin," Anakin said. "She's in a healing trance."

Kale nodded in approval and then carried his son into the infirmary. He noticed with equal approval that Jacen already had an IV drip going for Danni. "What are you giving her?"

"Basic nutrients in a saline drip," Jacen said. "She's suffering severe starvation." He looked at his cousin. "How's Jor doing?"

"The same, plus radiation poisoning." He placed his son on the table and then covered him in a blanket just as the ship jolted again. He touched Jor's face, nodded to Anakin, and stepped quickly out.

He ducked into another cabin just up the narrow halls and found Jaina sitting in a folding chair holding his wife's hand. He came in and smiled at the teen-ager before kneeling beside Mara.

With a whisper of the Force, he roused her. Her eyes flittered open. "Don't get up, don't speak," he told her softly. "I got Jor, just like I promised. He's going to be okay. Know he's going to be okay."

A ghost of a smile touched her lips, and then her eyes closed again. "Thank you," he said to Jaina. He kissed the young Jedi gently on the forehead, and then left the room.

"Is Jor going to be okay?" Karia asked as Kale emerged.

"He will," Kale said. He stripped out of the damaged suit and then wrapped her in a hug. "And so will you. You should go to your brother. Let him know you're there. You too, Anakin. Friendly faces will do him good."

Anakin nodded wordlessly as Kale made his way to the cockpit. Leia was alone, flying the ship desperately. "Need any help, Cousin?"

"Yes, but I guess you'll have to do," she said without looking up from the controls.

He took the co-pilot's seat. "You're getting better at piloting this thing."

"Practice," she said. "Han makes me take her out whenever I have Jedi business." She pulled hard on the controls and sent the _Falcon_ cork-screwing between showers of plasma.

She hit the hyperdrive controls only to growl in frustration. "Something's holding us in real-space," she said.

Kale reached out, and held her hand. "It's okay, Leia. Han's here."

She looked, and he could sense her anger and desperation fade into relief.

Han arrived, with the entire Fifth Fleet. One hundred and seventy ships of varying sizes and armaments dropped out of hyperspace almost directly in front of the _Falcon._ At the lead was _Ralroost_, surrounded by two _Imperial-II_ class star destroyers, and the newer _Nebula_-class destroyers that, although smaller, provided equal fire power.

"_Millenium Falcon_," a beautifully familiar voice said, "I trust you had good hunting. Make for the _Ralroost._"

"Acknowledged, _Ralroost_," Leia said.

As the skies began to light up behind them, she maneuvered the _Falcon_ in the hangar of the Bothan assault cruiser while around it the capital ships of the fleet surged forward.

A New Republic aide waited for them as the ramp dropped. Leia was first out.

"Master Solo, General Solo requests your presence on the bridge," he said.

Leia nodded. "We have need of medical personnel."

"I'll see to it, ma'am," the aide said. "If you'll come with me?"

Kale emerged behind her. "Medics are coming?"

Leia nodded, and only then did Kale accompany her. The aide led them through the labyrinthine halls of the Bothan ship, which rarely held a straight corridor and had the overall feeling of a cave. It perfectly suited the Bothan psyche.

The bridge, though spacious, held a low ceiling filled with monitors and screens displaying an array of information. Leia felt Han in a far corner and stepped past the aide as she moved toward him. Resplendent in his uniform, Han stood with a host of officers, and holographic images of even more, as she arrived.

"Master Solo," he said with a grin.

"General Solo."

The grin lessoned as he looked at Kale. "Did you get your boy?"

"I did, thank you," Kale said.

One of the holograms waved. "Hey Kale, nice to see you again," Wedge Antilles said. "Han, it looks like your tactics are working. We've deployed K-wing bombers behind the enemy with great effect, but we are taking losses."

"We'll just have to keep pounding away," Han said.

"Do we offer quarter?" General E'tahn asked.

"I'd love to show them no mercy," Han said, "but we're better than they are. We'll offer surrender only after we have effective control of the battle. Until that time we attack without restraint."

"General!" Traest Ka'frey yelled from the bridge.

Han and the other officers looked up. On the holonet, Wedge whistled. "I see it too, command."

Leia and Kale both turned and looked at the tactical viewer. Something was rising from the surface of the planet, something larger than any ship they had ever seen.

"By the Force," Han said, "that thing's almost as large as the Death Star."

"Estimates put it at closed to one hundred kilometers in diameter," Ka'Frey confirmed. "Roughly saucer shaped. It's opening fire!"

It did not just open fire. It exploded with plasma bursts in numbers greater than anything yet seen. Every ship in the fleet took fire simultaneously, as did those Vong ships between them. "It's firing on its own ships!" Antilles said in astonishment.

"Shields are dropping across the fleet!" E'tahn said.

"All ships, break and attack!" Han ordered. "Do not clump, spread apart. _Obi-Wan_ task force, jump clear of the system and flank that thing! Hit it with everything we have!"

Just on the edge of the screen, they all watched in horror as a _Sacheen_-class frigate bowed down before repeated blows, and then cracked apart in a brilliant flare of fire. The fire died out as the atmosphere was depleted, leaving a burned shell of a ship.

The _Ralroost_ herself turned abruptly and broke with the rest of the fleet. The Vong capital ships continued firing on the fleet with impunity, as if somehow immune from the overwhelming plasma fire.

"Han!" Kale said, "what's the largest yield hardpoint ordinance you have?"

"I have no idea," Han said. "Kre'fey, what's the biggest boom for the cred you have?"

"We have a pair of five hundred isoton concussion missiles," Kre'Fey said. "But I don't think we could get a clear shot."

"Pull the warhead," Kale said. "I'll be your delivery system."

"That ship is a hundred kilometers wide," Han said. "Even five hundred isotons might not be enough to destroy it even if you get through its shields."

"But it might open a hole in their defenses," Kale pointed out.

"Will you survive something like that?" Han asked.

Kale looked the other man in the eyes. "Like you said, Han, I can't sit this one out."

The general nodded. "Admiral, have your techs pull a warhead."

"Yes, General," Kre'fey said.

They waited for the order to be executed. "We've lost the _Intrepid_," Antilles reported. "My own ship's taking a beating."

The holoprojector flickered and a later moment General E'tahn appeared. "The _Obi-Wan_ task force has successfully flanked the enemy super ship and are attacking. Our weapons appear to have a minimal impact."

"Hang tight, General," Solo said. "Help is on the way."

"The warhead is ready," Kre'fey said. "It is on the hangar deck."

Kale nodded. "Han, if this is going to work you need to get me as close as possible."

Han nodded. "Admiral, withdrawal from the battle. Once clear, set up a micro-jump to within five thousand meters of the enemy ship."

The Bothan turned and bared his teeth. "That is an extremely risky maneuver with a capital ship, General."

"That's why I would ask only your crew to attempt it," Solo said. "The _Ralroost_ has shown it's one of the best ships in the fleet. Now it's time to live up to that reputation. Do it."

Kre'fey nodded even while he growled, and gave the order.

Kale nodded to the officers and Han, and ran from the bridge. Leia followed on his heels. "Why now?' she asked as they made their way to a turbolift down to the hangar deck. "Is it revenge for what they did to Jor?"

Kale shook his head. "This isn't the Dark Side motivating me, Leia," he said. "When I was in that moon, I felt something. Rage and hatred. I couldn't feel the Vong in the Force, but I felt an overhanging sense of dark emotions. These creatures would not rest until we are all dead or broken. They're a threat to everything." They ran from the lift into the hangar deck proper.

Biobed hoverslabs drifted gently away from the Falcon. Two carried Mara and Danni, the third carried his son. Karia and the Solo kids followed. Karia saw her father and waved.

He waved back, and then made his way to the clump of technicians on the far side of the hangar. The Bothan technicians eyed Kale warily as he and Leia approached. They broke up their circle and backed away from the speeder-sized warhead.

"This is a hypermatter-core thermonuclear warhead," one said in clipped Basic. "It weights nearly a ton. How are you going to deliver it?"

Kale leaned down and lifted the device without apparent effort. The techs hissed in surprise. "You haven't heard about Kale Naberrie?" Leia asked.

"We thought the rumors were exaggerated," the lead tech said.

"A reasonable assumption," Kale said with forced lightness. "You can't always believe everything you hear."

He carried the warhead across the floor with Leia by his side. The lights overhead flashed twice to warn them of the impending jump. Kale felt a hand on his arm and turned to his cousin.

"Kale, Han didn't mean what he said," she said softly. "He's taken the loss of Sernpidal personally. It happened on his watch."

"Don't apologize for him, Leia," Kale said. "He had every right to say what he did. I did what I did because I thought it was right. But I know it was hard on everyone, and I understand their anger. But in the end, Han was right. I won't sit this one out."

Leia leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Good luck. May the Force be with you."

He smiled down at her and then looked out the atmospheric shields of the deck. The stars shuddered violently as the ship made a microjump through hyperspace. There was a wash of blue and then the sky turned orange under the constant barrage of plasma. He could see one of the spoke-like arms projecting out from the insanely huge ship.

The _Ralroost_'s claxons roared to life as the assault cruiser immediately started taking heavy fire.

Kale did not hesitate. With the warhead in his arms, he soared out of the hangar into the maelstrom.

Once clear of the deck, the true immensity of the Praetorite Vong ship spread before Kale's eyes. He could have been looking down at a moon, it was so large. So close, he could see hundreds upon hundreds organic plasma cannons protruding from the coral-like surface of the craft. He saw other objects, some as large as starships, bulging on the surface.

He felt a surge of gravity, as if he were on the edge of an event horizon, and had to push through it to evade a volley of cannon fire. With such an intense barrage of fire, the smaller coral-skippers did not attempt to attack, but even so space was deadly.

He felt more than saw the _Ralroost_ jump back away. In the distance on the edge of weapons range, he could see the main body of the Fifth Fleet engaged with the other Vong capital ships while shooting at the world ship when opportunity presented itself. Behind him, the _Obi-Wan_ task force continued to attack, though even as he watched one of the taskforce frigates exploded.

Another surge of artificial gravity struck, and then a second and a third.

Kale realized with a shock that he was slowing down. He looked up at the red sun, and realized suddenly why. At any other place, he could have just punched through the gravity surges, but under the debilitating effects of the red sun he simply did not have the power.

A plasma burst clipped his arm and sent him spinning. He managed to hang on to the warhead and steadied his flight. His black jumpsuit was burned along the sleeve, and he could feel red welts forming on his skin. The burn seemed strange—it hurt, but he was more fascinated by the fact of there being pain than he was harmed by the pain itself. It had been so long since anything hurt him.

He dodged another plasma burst as he felt another surge of gravity. He realized if he didn't act soon, the Vong would be able to trap him with their odd artificial gravity fields, much like Darth Vader once caught him on the Death Star.

Thinking of Darth Vader led Kale down a path of ideas that quickly moved to realization. If he could not beat the Vong as a Kryptonian, then he would beat them as a Jedi.

Kale pulled the Force to him with all the resolve and will he had and reached out to an oncoming burst of plasma. He kept a Force-grip on the projectile and let it whip around him like an orbiting moon before he shot it back at the ship. He followed quickly in its fiery tale.

The shielding pulled it into one of the tiny gravity wells the enemy used to shield itself. As soon as the plasma ball dissipated, he grabbed another and did the same thing, moving steadily closer to the world ship on the tails of their own weapons.

Finally he reached the surface of the ship. Around him the plasma cannons pulsed and fired, while smaller orbs moved about. He felt gravity shifting around him and realized the orbs were the source of the shielding. His heat vision burned through one, and he watched as it simply floated away from the surface.

Without a metal hull the grapplers the techs placed on the weapon were useless. Instead Kale kicked a shallow hole in the rocky surface and simply threw a grappler hook in with all the force he could muster. The hook shot down like a torpedo until momentum and resistance stopped it. However, the effect provided a solid anchor. He did the same with the second hook and quickly had the warhead set.

He looked up by chance and was stunned by what he saw. A veritable army of soldiers approached over the surface of the ship. They moved as if in gravity, and he realized the strange orbs were providing a gravity field for them to approach. Their faces and bodies were completely covered in strange growths, but through transparent membranes he could see their eyes.

Their strange weapons bristled in the vacuum of space as they approached.

There were at least a thousand approaching. He could destroy them, but it would take time. In the distance he could see a new Republic destroyer erupting in flame.

If he set the bomb and left, there was a good chance the warriors could loose the warhead. Outside of the shield, the warhead would have only a little more destructive force than a broadside of turbolasers. If it was to have any effect, it had to go off under the shields.

Kale floated in front of the

warhead, and let loose the hellfire that blazed in his eyes.

The coral-like surface erupted under the heat of his gaze. Rather than shoot the warriors themselves, Kale sped along the surface vaporizing the hull around them. The warriors continued toward the bomb. They knew what the true threat was.

Kale finished his circumnavigation of the warriors and dove under the surface of the coral. Again, he found his progress slowed by his weakness, but there was no choice but to succeed. When he burned far enough into the incredibly thick surface of the world ship, he pushed up.

Though sound did not travel in vacuum, he could feel the reverberation of snapping coral under his hands as he shoved with all his might. On the surface, the warriors gaped as the hull upon which they walked rose steadily from the rest of the ship. They looked around in shock, disbelieving a piece of yorik coral so large could simply be cut off like a piece of diseased skin.

Kale stopped pushing—the momentum was enough to take the piece far enough away for him to set the weapon. He turned his attention back to the warhead and set the timer. He purposely did not give himself much time. The fleet could not afford to wait.

With that, Kale launched himself into space as fast as he could. He soared past the sheared off platform filled with stunned Vong warriors, and made best speed toward the taskforce.

The _Ralroost_ returned from its microjump behind the _Obi-Wan_ task force. Alarms still rang across the ship. In the ten seconds of flight over the worldship, the Bothan assault cruiser took a crippling amount of damage. Han looked over the ship's stats with regret—a lot of Bothans died in that maneuver.

"Come on, Kale," Han said, "don't prove me wrong!"

"Tactical shows a piece of the worldship hull is separating from the rest of the ship," a Bothan officer called.

"Any idea why?" Kre'fey asked.

"No, but the section of the hull appears to have warriors aboard."

Han couldn't help the triumphant "Whoop!"

All eyes turned to him. "That's Kale," Han said. "They must have sent out assault troops to try and stop him. That means he made it."

"I hope so, General," Kre'fey said.

Then they saw it.

Modern armor and shielding was designed to withstand high mega-ton and even low isoton assaults. Even a multi-gigaton explosion would not necessarily destroy a shielded or well armored enemy vessel if fired at range. But without the benefits of shielding, directly against a hull, even the strongest armor had to give way before 500 isotons of explosive force.

Kale's placement of the weapon was perfect—half a kilometer into the disc-shape craft directly between two of the large spokes. The concussion wave created by the explosion ripped through the ship like a knife, slashing through the tough coral until it exploded out the other side.

As the fleet watched, two huge spokes, each as long as a super star destroyer, and a portion of the ship almost five kilometers wide broke clean away from the rest of the ship and began tumbling uncontrollably toward the icy surface of Helska.

Han hit the com-switch for a fleet-wide broadcast. "This is General Solo to _Obi-Wan_ taskforce. Concentrate all fire on the world ship breach. We have our door, my friends. Let's go knocking!"

He stood. "Except you, Admiral," Han said to Traest. "You and your crew are directly responsible for allowing this breach to happen, at great cost to yourselves. Hold the _Ralroost_ in reserve near Helska and concentrate fire on any enemy fighters."

With its shields ripped clean away, half its heavy turbolaser batteries destroyed and two dozen hull breaches, the _Ralroost_ was in no condition to fight. Both Han and Traest knew it, and the order both preserved Bothan pride while allowing Traest to preserve the lives of his men. "Thank you, Admiral."

By virtue of position, General E'tahn was the first to take advantage of the breach. He brought the _Obi-Wan_ and two other _Nebula-_class destroyers to within a few kilometers of the wordship breach and settled into the hole in its field of fire. They set to work with abandon. Heavy turbolasers, proton torpedoes and concussion missiles fired without pause. Death itself took on a greenish hue as it poured into the worldship.

The rest of Fifth Fleet saw its opportunity. With fire from the worldship diminished, General Antilles perfected the flanking tactic Han developed on the remaining capital ships. Losses were still heavy, but the Hero of Yavin made short work of the remaining capital ships. Then he turned his attention to the behemoth still in orbit around Helska.

"That's the last obstacle," Wedge said over his taskforce channel. "Let's take care of the monster. All K-wings, take strafing runs on their shield and weapons placements. All other ships, I am designating a section of the worldship for concentrated fire. Target this spot and no other."

The spot Wedge highlighted on his command console was on the exact opposite of the massive ship from the breach Kale caused. With dovin basils and plasma cannons desperately trying to stem the onslaught from E'tahn's ships, Wedge's choice of target proved to be ideal. It was, in fact, Han's flanking maneuver on a grand scale.

The combined ships of the Fifth Fleet braved still considerable fire and threw everything they had at the worldship. In mere minutes, a second breach exploded out into the dark of space. On his tactical Wedge could see bodies flying out into space.

"This thing is insanely tough," Colonel Brand said from nearby.

Wedge nodded. "It's organic. If it was made by us, it'd blown by now."

Brand smiled. "We're seeing a fifty percent decrease in enemy fire. It's working."

Wedge nodded and contacted the _Ralroost._ "Han, this is Wedge. Looks like we're breaking through. Do we offer a chance to surrender?"

"Getting live prisoners would go a long way in determining the nature of the threat," Han said. "Signal on broadband the order to surrender."

Wedge sent the signal. Abruptly all enemy fire stopped. A moment later they received a signal from the Vong ship. _"Tchurokk Yun'tchilat. Krel os'a hmi vat ta!_"

The ship opened fire again, but not at the New Republic fleet. As Han and his stunned command staff watched, the worldship turned all of its weapons onto Helska itself. Massive plumes of ice shot off from the surface of the world. The ship began moving, trailing behind debris from the two flaming breaches, toward the icy world.

"Kriffing bantha snot!" Han yelled. "All ships back off, back off!"

Sensors around the fleet detected a massive surge of artificial gravity. Somehow the worldship was using its shield and propulsion system to attack the planet itself even as it approached.

The hundred-kilometer-wide ship struck the surface of Helska at a quarter the speed of light. The concussive shock of the impact combined with the stressing effects of a thousand dovin basils split the small, already fragile world apart. The stresses resulted in explosive force that ripped up through the world ship and toward the retreating Republic ships.

On board the _Ralroost_, Leia was just stepping onto the bridge when the whole ship spun under the assault of debris and ejecta from the dead planet. Gravity and life support failed as the ship spun bow over stern.

Han felt himself pressed against the deck plating by nothing more than the centrifugal force of their spins. Somehow, he knew Leia made it to his side. He didn't see her in the sudden darkness of the ship, nor hear her. He knew she was there because he could smell her perfume.

"We having fun yet?" he called.

After only a few minutes, the ship's rotation slowed as emergency vectored thrusters fired. Moments later artificial gravity and emergency lighting came back on. Once lit, Han surveyed the mess that was Kre'fey's bridge. "Traest, you all right?"

"I'm alive," the admiral said.

Han picked himself up and stumbled to the command console while the rest of his staff and Leia checked themselves over. "This is Solo. Give me ship statuses. Wedge, you still there?"

"Still here, Command," the other general said. "My task force was a little further away. I lost five ships and we have damage across the fleet. My tactical tells me E'tahn's group is in a bad way. The debris field is immense, but I'm sending out rescue crews now."

Han nodded and began scanning his own tactical feed. "General E'tahn, are you there?"

Han waited for the _Obi-Wan_ to respond. "Traest, can your people get a visual on the _Obi-Wan_?"

Kre'fey echoed the orders, and Han straightened. Beside him, he heard Leia suck in a deep breath.

The New Republic's pride, the _Nebula_-class star destroyer _Obi-Wan,_ spun lazily through the debris field in two separate pieces connected solely by a few meters of armor plating. Han could see the darkened holes where the reactor had gone off and blown the ship.

He felt fingers in his and looked down to see Leia holding his hand. With his other hand he used the Fifth fleet frequency. "This is General Solo to _Obi-Wan_ task force. Please signal. Rescue crews are on the way."

He was about to speak when he saw Karia Naberrie walk into the bridge. Looking at the young teenager, it was easy to forget her strength and power. Now, she just looked like a frightened girl.

Leia noticed his gaze and turned to see the young padawan. "Karia?" she said. "What's wrong?"

"Where's my dad?" Karia asked with wide, reddened eyes.

Leia spun around to Han, who looked to his command console. He opened a channel. "This is General Solo. Does anyone have a visual on Kale Naberrie?"

A series of negatives came back as the various officers of the fleet checked. He looked up to Karia, then Leia. "Take the _Falcon_ back out," he said. "We were able to clear out most of the enemy fighters. While you're out there see if you can help direct crews to survivors."

"I'll take Anakin," Leia said.

* * *

**kahless21**--Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**katie147**--Thanks, and glad to have you reading. Of all my stories, Legacy of the Red Sun (the whole trilogy) still ranks among my favorite, although I did really enjoy my Harry Potter/Star Wars crossover as well. Heck, I even used the same initial opening as I did with Legacy of the Red Sun!

**David Sunrider**--Thanks for the kind words. Also, thank you for your PM offer. I am actually considering it. I'll let you know by PM.

**The-Knight2000**--Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you're enjoying it!

**GoldenRat**--Well then this chapter should have had you going. It definitely had some Superman moments to it!

**Dajohu**--I might have heard it from you once or twice ;). This story follows roughly Vector Prime. After that, it's pretty much up in the air.

**Roosterman71**--Danni feels a primal attraction to the handsome young men who saved her, but she also knows they are teenagers. She's no perv, she knows that it's not quite right.

**Alex**--Thanks, I'll consider the offer!

Thank you all for reading!


	10. What Price Victory

Author's Responses at End

* * *

**Chapter Ten: What Price Victory?**

Jor opened his eyes. The medical bay of the _Ralroost_ was, like the rest of the ship, in bad condition. The monitoring beds were hard-locked to the floor, but everything else was thrown haphazardly around the room.

That included Danni and Jacen.

The young Jedi was slumped in a corner with a small trickle of blood from his forehead. Jor caught a glimpse of Danni's bare, too-thin leg from a pile of blankets nearby. The medical droid lay on its side. "Please help me up, sir," it said in a calm, Bothan voice.

Jor picked himself off the plating and looked down at the loose robe he wore. It was better than being completely nude, he supposed. He felt incredible weak and heavy as he stumbled to the droid. Even so, he righted the four two hundred kilogram machine.

"Thank you," it said. "I am Five Five Cee, Medical droid. Please assist me in placing the patients back on their beds."

Jor went to Danni first. Her eyes were half open. "What happened?" she managed to whisper.

"I think the ship was hit," Jor said. "We're okay now. The alarms have turned off."

Though she too wore a robe now, he still wrapped her in the blanket and carried her to the first bed. Her arm bled a little where an intravenous line was torn free during the wreck. It was a mark of her poor condition she did not bleed more.

"I'm so tired," she whispered.

"I know the feeling," he said.

"Where is Jacen?"

Jor turned and looked at his distant cousin. He heard the concern in her voice and had to crush a swelling of jealously. Instead, he stumbled over and lifted Jacen from the floor and carried him to the bed next to her.

"The young Jedi will be fine," the droid said. "Ms. Quee on the other hand is in need of more intensive care."

"Bacta?" Jor asked.

"Bacta cures injuries, wounds and in some cases illness. It does not treat starvation." A secondary pair of arms emerged from the droid's body and quickly attached a new IV to Danni's arm. She barely grimaced.

A thin hand took his. "You're so strong," she whispered. Her face was sunken and her blonde hair dull and thin. "You saved me."

"It's what we Naberries do," Jor said. "It's what friends do. Besides, without you, I would have gone insane in there."

She smiled weakly. "I'm going to sleep now," she managed to say.

Jor leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I'll be here."

She nodded, smiled to him again, and then quickly slipped into a deep slumber.

"Going to kiss me too?" Jacen asked.

Jor looked up at the other padawan. Jacen sat up slowly on the edge of the bed. The blood from the cut on his forehead ran down his cheek.

"I'll pass," Jor said. "Are you all right?"

"Just a bang on the head. Question is, are you? Danni told me a little. A week without food; maintaining a force bubble against a flood of water. Curled up on the ground, just the two of you. Naked, no less. I bet that was a stimulating adventure."

Jor felt heat rush to his cheeks and had more difficulty this time wrestling with the anger. "What are you trying to say, Jacen?"

"Nothing at all," Jacen said. "I admire your strength in the Force to be able to do that. I'm not sure I could have. And when I see how she came through it, and how you came through it, it does make me wonder what else you've been hiding."

"I've never hid anything," Jor said. "I'm tired, Jace." He walked back to his bed and lay down.

"Go ahead and take a nap," Jacen said. "Don't worry about your girlfriend. I'll take care of her." He managed to make it sound like he was being genuinely helpful. Jor kept his face blank and his eyes closed.

* * *

"This is the _Millennium Falcon_ to rescue crews," Leia said. "We are sensing survivors aboard the _Stalwart._"

"Acknowledged, _Falcon_," a brisk voice responded. "Thanks for the assist, we're on our way."

The _Majestic_-class heavy cruiser hung at an odd angle to the _Falcon_ with a large piece of debris from Helska lodged squarely into its midsection. Still, through the _Force_ they could sense a good portion of the crew alive and in need. Within moments of the message, a much smaller fleet tender approached the fatally wounded ship with rescue crews standing by. The fleet tender ships provided basic supplies, but could also be converted to a number of other uses as necessary because of their extensive cargo room and fast hyperdrives.

That marked the fourth capital ship from the _Obi-Wan_ task force destroyed or severely damaged but with survivors. Four other ships held no survivors at all. The _Obi-Wan_ herself did have over three hundred survivors. Sadly, General E'tahn was not one of them.

Beside Leia, Anakin poured over the co-pilot controls while Karia sat at the navigation console. The two Jedi could feel a steady pulse in the Force and knew the youngest Naberrie was reaching out to her father. The power in the call was almost numbing.

In fact, "Karia, that hurts a little," Anakin said.

"Shield then," Karia said.

"I AM shielding," he snapped back. He winced under another pulse.

"Karia, stop trying to call to him," Leia said gently. "Use the Force. Reach out with your senses and let the Force guide you. Brute strength isn't always the best approach."

Karia opened her mouth as if to snap back, but then closed it and nodded. "Yes, Master," she said. The pulses came to a stop as Karia reached out with the Force. "I just don't understand why he's not responding."

Leia returned her attention to the task at hand. They had already checked all fifteen ships of the lost task force and crews were already trying to help the survivors. In this one task above all others, the aid of Jedi could never be underestimated.

Still, their primary target eluded them.

"This is like searching for a fish in the ocean," Anakin whispered.

"Then we'll just have to be good fisherman," Leia said with a confidence she did not feel. She closed her eyes and let herself drift on the tides of the Force. It was something she wasn't able to do as often as she wanted. The conflicting pull of her duty to the New Republic and her duty to the Jedi Order was distracting her from her equal duty to herself, and her place in the Force. She thought back to the early days of the Rebellion. She realized with a start that those were only four years between when Kale came into her life, and when he left her alone to found the Jedi order.

Leia Organa Skywalker Solo, Jedi Master and founder of the new Jedi Order, discovered something in her that she would never have believed. She resented Kale. Just as Han did. Just as Wedge and Mon Mothma and the rest of the Alliance did. At the time, she respected him for what she viewed as a difficult moral choice. But as the years that followed poured out the blood of friends and colleagues, she unconsciously built up a resentment that the strongest being in the galaxy, who claimed kinship and friendship with her, was not by her side fighting for what they both professed to believe in.

With this new discovery came yet another painful realization. Her resentment of Kale bled over, intentionally or not, to his whole family. To Mara, fighting a terrible illness, to Jor-El, and finally to the beautiful, frightened young woman sitting behind her.

She wondered just how much of her resentment her children, and in fact the rest of her Order, picked up on unconsciously.

She turned then and reached out to take Karia's hands. The young woman blinked in surprise. "We will find him," Leia said. "I promise."

Karia nodded and forced a smile. "Thank you."

"I think you did find him, mom," Anakin said.

Leia spun back around and looked through the viewport. All she saw was floating, unstable debris. Already Helska's gravity was starting to draw the pieces of it back. That much mass simply did not disappear, and the natural forces began to do their work.

She called on the Force, though, and followed its pull to a point just ahead of them. In the dim light of the red sun, it was nothing more than a pale dot. However, as Anakin expertly brought the _Falcon_ closer, the dot resolved into a body.

"Dad!" Karia whispered. Her terror poured from her as she ran to the back hold.

"Why's he naked?" Anakin asked. "I've seen more naked people today than I have in my whole life. I just wish most of them weren't boys."

"Yes, too bad," Leia muttered. As they got closer, they realized he was not naked. His black jumpsuit was simply burned and tattered so badly much of his body showed through.

Then she saw something that made Anakin beside her gasp. Karia floated through the void toward her father. Her red hair trailed behind her. "I didn't know she could do that!" Anakin said.

"I think we've misjudged all the Naberries," Leia said. "Move it closer. We're still under a red star and she's not as strong as she needs to be."

Indeed, they could see her struggling as she pulled at her father's arm. Still, the _Falcon_ moved close enough that it was a simple matter for her to pull her father into the airlock.

"Take us back to the _Ralroost_," Leia ordered. She trusted Anakin to fly the ship. Like Jaina and Jacen, Han made sure all his children could pilot the _Falcon_.

She rushed to the back just in time to see both Kale and Karia collapse to the floor. Karia was gasping and crying in pain and her skin looked red, as if sunburned. Kale looked…like he had on Hoth, when Darth Vader stabbed a kryptonite lightsaber through his chest.

"He's not breathing at all," Karia gasped as she cried. "I can't feel him, Master!"

Using the Force, Leia levitated Kale through the ship to the infirmary with Karia on her heels. As soon as he was safely in a bed she started digging through the panels until she found a lamp.

Karia blinked. "What is that?"

"A broad spectrum lamp," Leia said. "When I stepped down as Chief of State Han and I took a vacation for month with the kids. Jacen set up a hydroponics lab in here for cooking herbs. This light simulates light from a yellow star."

She hooked it up to the power jack and then hung it over a diagnostic arm and turned it on. Karia moved to stand in front of the lamp, and closed her eyes. Leia watched, stunned, as the red burns faded from the young woman's skin.

"That feels incredible," Karia whispered. "I never realized how good the sun feels, until we came here."

Karia looked down to her father and put a hand on his chest. "His heart's still not beating," she said desperately.

"Did he ever tell you about what happened at Hoth?" Leia asked.

Karia shook her head. "He didn't talk about the war much."

"Darth Vader and your mom invaded our base. Kale tried to save us and attacked Vader. But Vader had a lightsaber that used a piece of Kryptonite. It cut right through him. I had to fight your mom all the way back to the transport. We got him on board, but he had no life signs at all. And then, after a few hours, he just woke up."

Karia's hand moved down her father's broad, muscular chest until she found the one and only blemish on his body. "I was wondering why that scar never healed." She smiled. "So mother was out to get Kale even before they got married?"

"Mara came close to killing us all," Leia said. "Did you know one time she knocked me out and kidnapped me to the Death Star?"

Karia gaped. "Really? Was she pretty?"

The question nonplussed Leia. "She was the Emperor's hand and a professional assassin."

Karia shrugged. "Yeah, I know. But was she pretty?"

With a hopeless laugh, Leia wrapped Karia in a hug. "Yes, she was. She was beautiful. Your father was smitten with her the moment he saw her, even though she kept trying to kill us all."

"But he saved her," Karia said. "Just like he saved us from that ship."

Leia kissed her forehead, and nodded. "Yes, Karia. Your father is a hero."

"Better not let Han hear you say that," a weak voice murmured.

"Dad!" Kara was out of Leia's arms and over her father in the blink of an eye. Leia didn't mind at all as she moved around the table in the cramped cabin.

"Damned gravity fields slowed me down," he said. "I wasn't able to escape the blast completely."

He reached up an arm and took Leia's hand. "I felt you. All of you. I tried to reach you, but I couldn't. But I felt you coming. I knew you would find me. Thank you."

"That's what family does, Kale," Leia said. Around them they heard a metallic clang as they returned to the _Ralroost_. "Thank you for what you did."

"Did it work?"

Leia nodded. "It did. But the Vong didn't surrender. They rammed the ship into the planet. We lost General E'tahn and an entire taskforce."

Kale closed his eyes a moment and then struggled to sit up. Karia had to help. "How is Han taking it?"

"Like a general who has led men into difficult battles before. The question is how the Senate will take it."

"And Mara?"

"She's on board the _Ralroost_," Leia said. "Beyond that I don't know." She took a long, appraising look. "We need to get you a shirt. Han has a few loose sweaters around her somewhere that'll work short term."

"I want to see the rest of my family," Kale said.

* * *

General Solo transferred his flag from the _Ralroost_ to the _Endurance-_class fleet carrier _Venture_. He sent orders flowing through the entire New Republic defense forces and sent encoded briefs to the Minister of Defense and Chief of State Elegos A'Kla with every bit of information they had, which wasn't much.

He met with his senior staff every hour as they continued to rescue personnel and had to set up a triage system on what ships to try and rescue from the increasingly dangerous Helska gravity well.

This took the better part of a day. Han had not slept in at least two days. He moved as if in dream, issuing orders and running on stims and caf. Of all the numbers, facts and figures that ran through his head, only one lingered: 98,523. That was the number of beings in his fleet that died. Men, women and sentient beings of all races from across the Republic. Almost one hundred thousand people died under his command.

Even as exhausted as he was, Han did not blame himself for their deaths. As a seasoned commander who served under both the Empire and the Rebellion, he realized death happened in war. Though he did not blame himself for their deaths, nonetheless he was responsible for the losses as their commander.

The fact that 28 ships were lost, including several large capital ships, and almost every other ship in the fleet suffered some level of damage, was less important than personnel. Ships could be rebuilt, even if the senate was not going to see it that way.

The door to his quarters opened and he looked up bleary-eyed as his wife stepped in. "Our children are bunked down," she said. "Jaina wants to sign up now."

"She's a damned fine pilot," Han said.

"Are you serious?"

"I'm tired," Han said.

Leia nodded. He knew she had not slept since he had, and yet as always she seemed more alert and awake than he. More beautiful. She took his hand and pulled him away from his desk. "Wedge got five hours of sleep today. He's on duty. You're off. Come to bed."

"I've got a lot to do."

"And it will still be there for you when you wake up," she said. She undid the ceremonial buttons on this uniform and pulled his jacket off, then pulled the shirt over his head. She thought back to Kale on the table, then looked at the graying hair on her husband's chest. She saw the scars from years of hard living. She traced one from a surgery just a few years ago. One came from an accident involving Anakin and a droid the young man was trying to build.

She noticed how the muscles weren't quite as large or firm as they used to be. She noticed that Han was getting older. He was more beautiful to her then than at any point in their long marriage.

She stepped back and looked him in the eye as she let her robes drop around her ankles. She was getting older too, she knew. But she knew that as he looked at her, he thought she was beautiful too. "I love you," she said.

"I know," he said with a tired grin. "I'm not sure how much fun I'll be."

"I just want to feel you sleeping," she assured her tired warrior as she led him to bed.

"Okay," he said with a yawn. "Gonna be there when I wake up?"

"Yes."

They climbed under the covers and he curled up next to her. "Good," he mumbled. "I'll be more fun then." And with that, General of the Defense Force Han Solo slipped into a deep sleep.

He started snoring loudly a minute after that.

"I love you, Han," Leia said one more time with a gentle smile. She closed her eyes, and drifted into sleep herself.

* * *

Yes, I know, a short chapter. But then again, I realize as I'm doing this that I got my posting order mixed up on my two stories, so in a sense consider this a bonus chapter.

**Dajohu**--Thank you. I agree that the different authors found themselves in a bad situation with how the first writers so horrifically wanked the Vong out.

**Alex**--Thanks, and due to my own lack of brainpower, you're getting a chapter one week early!

**Wawaboy2**--Thanks, and here's an early update for you.

**Davin Sunrider**--Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

**GoldenRat**--You do when you're basing the chapter in spirit off the movie. He comes, makes a BIG splash and pays a personal price, though of course you know he'll survive.

**Roosterman71**--Thanks, I think most people agree the NJO was just straight bad.

**The-Knight2000**--Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it!


	11. Hail The Conquering Hero

**A/R at the end. Sorry 'bout the delay in post. **

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**Part II: Agents of Chaos**

**Chapter Eleven: Hail The Conquering Hero**

General and Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Force Han Solo personally commanded the fleet that stopped and destroyed an extra-galactic force of invaders possibly intent on destroying the whole galaxy.

Naturally, two weeks after his return to Coruscant he was summoned before a senate subcommittee.

Danni Quee sat on a sofa so new she had not even finished removing the wrap from it, and watched on the holonet as the general whose family helped save her life was grilled before a senate subcommittee.

"Are you actually asking this august body to accept the idea that almost a hundred thousand deaths is somehow a victory?" the Bothan chairman demanded. His name was Borsh or Borsk or something like that.

Danni did not spend a lot of time with General Solo, but she did not need to be intimately familiar with him to spot the anger in his eyes. However, the elderly, distinguished man beside the general chose to respond. This was Carlist Rieekan, she knew, the Minister of Defense and a hero of the Alliance.

"Senator Fey'lya, you've read General Solo's reports, the reports of his general staff and the conclusions at the Ministry of Defense. You even asked retired Admiral Ackbar to provide an independent review of the incident. All of the expert testimony you have sought has agreed on one thing: General Solo conducted the campaign in full compliance with the rules of war this body drafted and made sound, even brilliant tactical decisions throughout. While the loss of life was tragic and appalling, to somehow translate that into a defeat, or a stain on General Solo's actions, would be a grievous error. There were over two million sentient beings on Dubrillion who were saved as a direct result of General Solo's intervention. And to truly illustrate the danger those beings were in, I need only point to Sernpidal."

"There has been no definitive connection between the two events," Fey'lya said.

Danni snorted in disgust.

"Unfortunately, Senator, you have been misinformed."

"You tell them," Danni said to the holonet screen.

"General Solo's office sent a science vessel to determine the cause of the Sernpidallian moon's destabilization," Rieekan continued, as if in response to Danni's urging. "There was no reason to believe at the time that it was an aggressive act. The science vessel identified a gravity distortion identical in power output and waveform to those distortions caused by the Praetorite Vong's weaponry. Even you, Senator, would be hard pressed to claim that was solely coincidence."

"It is convenient that all the reports so closely try to label General Solo a hero," Fey'lya continued. "However, is it not true that he went to the theatre of battle solely to help a personal friend find his son?"

Danni shook her head. "Why are they trying to hurt him?" she asked her small, loft apartment.

Han leaned forward and placed a hand on Rieekan's arm. "I can answer this one, Sir," he said. "Senator, as you are undoubtedly aware, that personal friend was Kale Naberrie. While not a member of the New Republic Defense Forces, Kale single-handedly destroyed two enemy capital ships at Dubrillion. His son survived a week of starvation while protecting the only known eye-witness to these Vong—a witness who has proven the only source of reliable intelligence we have."

"Nonetheless you abandoned your responsibilities to go trying to save a friend…"

"Again, Senator, you have been misinformed," Rieekan said icily.

The holoshills made a point of zooming in to show Fey'lya actually baring his teeth.

"General Solo specifically refused Kale Naberrie's request to proceed straight to Helska despite their long friendship," Rieekan said. "Instead, General Solo went to Dubrillion where he set up a command station on your own cousin's ship, the _Ralroost_. Only after he established a command presence in the theater of battle did he allow his wife, Jedi Master Solo, and his own children, to accompany Kale in the search for his son."

"Kale broke two Vong capital ships on his way to Helska," Han added again, just to make sure it was on the record.

"The fact that Mr. Naberrie aided in the effort does not excuse the use of Republic resources for personal benefit during a time of crisis!" Fey'lya snarled.

"What resources were those?" Rieekan said. "The _Millennium Falcon_ is the personal property of General Solo. The Grand Master of the Jedi Order and several padawans piloted her. No New Republic personnel were involved in the operation at all. Further, Senator, upon the successful rescue of his son and Miss Danni Quee, Kale jeopardized his own life in the placement of a warhead against an enemy super destroyer over one hundred kilometers in diameter. His bravery opened up the breach that allowed General Solo and the Fifth Fleet to defeat it."

"If I understand correctly, General, you didn't defeat it," Fey'lya said coldly. "It defeated you."

Han managed to keep his face straight. "When we determined that the ship was sufficiently damaged, we offered terms of surrender in compliance the Rules of Conduct mandated by the Senate in Article 42 of the Defense Forces charter. The enemy responded with what our translation droids have determined was essentially an epithet followed by a prayer, and crashed their ship into Helska."

"To give you scale, Senator," Rieekan added, "the Death Star that destroyed Toprawa twenty five years ago was one hundred and sixty kilometers in diameter, only sixty kilometers wider than the ship General Solo and the Fifth Battle Group encountered. What the enemy did was tantamount to the Moff Tarkin ramming the whole Death Star into Yavin out of sheer spite. There simply was no possible precedence for General Solo to predict that would happen. The actions of the enemy did not correspond to any sane military response. The fact that he recognized the danger as quickly as he did and gave the order to pull out actually saved tens of thousands of lives. I assure you all that the assessment of his command staff and Admiral Ackbar's independent review for this committee is correct. General Solo performed exactly as we have come to expect as a hero of the Galactic Civil war and the Yevethan Insurgency."

Senator Niuk Niuv of Sullust shook his head. "This whole affairs smells to me like a military cover-up of the facts."

"General Solo has left a taskforce in the Sector to monitor any future Vong incursions," Rieekan said. "With a sizable force there to ensure your security, I'm sure this committee could easily dispatch their own officials to research the events that occurred in the Helska System."

"Rest assured we most certainly will," Fey'lya said. "I agree with my esteemed colleague, this smells like a cover up."

"Chairman," a new voice said.

Fey'lya nodded toward the new senator from Kuat, an attractive brunette with the noble demeanor common to her world. "After all the reports and testimony, I would like to propose that possibly the simplest answer to the issue is the correct one. Perhaps all the command staff of the New Republic Defense Force and Admiral Ackbar are not attempting to cover up a mistake, but rather simply telling us all what should, after a quarter of a century of honorable service, be an obvious truth. General Solo is a hero. I remember reading about his actions during the Civil War on Coruscant, and later studying his campaigns and frankly, I have a much harder time trying to believe that he and his staff are attempting to cover up a mistake than the fact that he fought a terrible and resilient enemy, and defeated that enemy but at great cost."

Danni noticed how Kuat's statement had an immediate effect on the rest of the committee. Bothans had a difficult time hiding their emotions, and Fey'lya's bared teeth and pin-point straight whiskers gave a good indication of his. The Sullustan, Niuv, made a point of examining a flimsiplast report in front of him.

However, the holoshills crowding the open chamber ate up every word.

Danni turned the holonet off and stood from the uncomfortable couch to walk to the window. In the two months since her return, she was officially placed on the New Republic payroll as a scientific advisor. This meant that her meager salary from Ex-Gal was supplemented sufficiently for her to afford the tiny apartment and supplies enough to live.

Although small, the apartment afforded spectacular views of a residential sector of Coruscant only a few hundred clicks from the government sector.

However, aside from a few debriefings, she now found she was being paid to do nothing. The being paid part did not bother her, but the doing nothing part rankled.

Her door chime announced a visitor. She glanced to the bar separating her small kitchen from the rest of the apartment and the five sets of flowers there. Two were from Jacen Solo, two from Jor-El, and one from Kale and Mara Naberrie.

If it was either Jacen or Jor-El again, she might have to just not answer the door.

When she looked, she saw an attractive older woman with short dark hair and intense eyes. She wore business casual brown slacks and a black blouse covered by an attractive brown vest that matched her slacks.

She opened the door. "May I help you?"

The woman smiled thinly and then showed a New Republic security ID. "My name is Jan Ors. I'm the director of New Republic Intelligence. I was hoping for a few minutes of your time."

Danni felt her stomach churn as she nodded and stepped back. "Please come in."

Jan walked into the room with a confident swagger Danni envied. "Nice apartment," Jan said without a trace of sarcasm. "Beautiful view."

"Thank you."

They sat down on the new sofa. "So, how have you enjoyed your vacation so far?" the Alpha Blue director said.

"I've been bored out of my skull," Danni admitted.

"Your file suggested you would be."

"I have a file?"

"You do now." Jan grinned, and suddenly some of the chill seemed to leave the air. It was a mischievous, intelligent expression that changed Danni's impression of the woman from one of a stiff bureaucrat, to a human being. "Not many people are accepted into Ex-Gal at such a young age. You are a prodigy. Depositions don't seem to make full use of your abilities. So, Alpha Blue would like to offer you a job."

"A job? As what, a spy?"

Jan grinned again. "Sweetie, you would make a terrible spy. You're much too ethical. Intelligence doesn't just hire spies. We have our own research departments and analysts. We would like to offer you a senior analyst position, and your area of focus would be the Praetorite Vong."

Danni looked out the window a moment. "So what exactly would I be doing?"

* * *

Mara Jade Naberrie woke slowly. It felt like surfacing from a lake of cold water. She had to struggle against the cold fingers that wanted to hold her back in unconsciousness. Finally, though, her will prevailed and she opened her eyes.

She lay in her bed on Naboo. Through the opened doors, the sun was already high in the sky over the stunning views of the lake country. A few puffy, pillow-like clouds drifted lazily across the sky, as if to make the dark blue stand out even more.

Kale sat on their patio, sunbathing. He wore a simple pair of briefs, but otherwise rested on the lounge to absorb every beam of sunlight. Eventually, he heard her stirring and stood to put on a robe.

The twenty-one years of their marriage saw almost no changes in him at all. He was larger, to be sure. His muscles bulged in places they used not to. His middle was marginally thicker, but without a trace of fat. He looked powerful. He looked beautiful. He looked as if he were still in his twenties as opposed being forty.

"How are you doing?" he asked as he gingerly sat on the edge of her bed.

"Tired," she said.

"Is it getting bad again?"

She nodded. The disease came and went. There were days where she was able to get up and spar with him as if she were perfectly healthy, while the next few days she would have to fall into a deep healing trance.

Lately the days in trance became far more numerous. They did not speak the fear they both felt.

"I meditated last night," Kale admitted. "I was hoping for a Force vision from Obi-Wan or Master Yoda. Instead I heard my father, my biological father, talking about Kryptonian technology. I thought of Hoth."

"We raided your fortress on Hoth," Mara said. "We spotted it from orbit and Darth Vader went through and removed all the data crystals for future study. There's nothing there but the structure."

"Do you know where the crystals were taken?"

"They were taken to the Emperor's stores on Coruscant," she said. "From there I would have no way of knowing. Possibly to Wayland, though there hasn't been mention of crystals found in the storehouse there."

Kale nodded and simply held her hand for a long time. "Could they be at Bastion?"

Mara became very still. "Kale, you know that I'm still considered a criminal in the Empire. I was tried and found guilty of High Treason in absentia."

Kale shrugged. "But could they be there?"

"Maybe," Mara admitted. "After the Emperor's death a lot of fracturing occurred. Following Grand Admiral Daala's campaign and her subsequent reorganization of the Empire, all the old archived records were moved. It could be the crystals were part of that."

Kale nodded. "Leia mentioned that Han wanted to send an information sharing mission to Bastion to brief them about the Praetorite Vong. I wonder what it would take for us to be on that mission."

"A lot of negotiation the New Republic envoy to the Empire probably doesn't want to have to go through."

"I figure after getting myself fried for the Republic, they might be willing to grant me a favor," Kale said.

Mara shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to ask."

* * *

"Speak, Intendent," Shedae Shai said. His deep, growling voice carried through perfectly from the vilip's three-dimensional version of his head.

Nom Anor bowed. "The abomination is named Kale Naberrie. We did not know about him because he has been in seclusion on a planet on the other side of the galaxy for over twenty years."

"And he is not some weapon of the enemy?"

"He is not, Supreme Commander," Anor said. "According to the popular history, he himself is not of this galaxy, but arrived as a child forty years ago and was taken in by Jeedai. He was raised by a family on Naboo called Naberrie, who just happened to be related to the Jedi Solo."

"These Jeedai again," Shai growled. "Tell me more of this abomination."

"He cannot be killed by any known methods. His only weakness is a substance from his home world in his galaxy of origin. The Galactic Empire used it on him, but even then was not able to kill him. After he destroyed the Emperor he hunted down and destroyed all traces of this element. I've not been able to find any more."

"He has no weaknesses?"

"Not physical," Anor said. "However, you will be pleased to know that this Kale Naberrie is married to a human female. She too is Jeedai. She was the human who first interfered with Malik Carr on Belkadan. However, we have learned that Carr was able to infect her with four times a lethal dose of my comb spores."

"She is dead, then?"

"She is not."

The vilip's interpretation of Shai's face could have been comical, if it were not so deadly. "How is this?"

"She is gravely ill," Anor said, "but lives till. I have consulted with several shapers and they do not understand how this could be. Perhaps because she is also Jeedai. However, her illness will serve us."

"How so?" Shai demanded.

"As powerful as this demon is," Anor said, "he is but one. He cannot be several places at once. He will tend to his beloved to cure an incurable disease, and this will buy us a time to gain the foothold we need."

The Supreme Commander of the Yuuzhan Vong snorted in obvious contempt. "He will have to be dealt with eventually."

"Better to deal with him when we are here in strength," Anor said, "would you not agree? And if we can delay his efforts at obtaining a cure for his wife, we may be able to distract him for a significant amount of time."

"The Warmaster is not pleased by the failure of the Intendent class to gain a foothold," Shai said with obvious threat.

"Then I shall have to make doubly sure you and he both are pleased with my performance in aiding your great assault. I have already worked with Eminence Harrar regarding a plan to destabilize the government."

"Yes, I have heard of this plan. Elan is the daughter of the Most High Priest Jakan. Use her life carefully," Shai warned. "The enemy is better organized than our scouts initially led us to believe. Anything to fray that organization will serve the Gods—the time of waiting has passed."

Anor bowed to the vilip as the image folded back in the vilip's body. He quickly put the vilip back in his bag and signaled the ooglith masque to recover his features. In moments, the scarred, heavily tattooed features of a Yuuzhan Vong ceased to exist. In its place stood a man of indeterminate height, age and features, with credentials as a reporter for the New Republic Holozine. He had a busy day today.

* * *

**Dajohu**--Jacen is a jerk in pretty much everything. But I try to redeem his characpter a little. And I am definitely not a fan of Karen Travesty.

**Kahelss**--Sorry 'bout the delay, but I appreciate you reading. Thanks!

**Relyan**--No worries, I have posted in three weeks. And I I think the Vong invaded because 1) They were religious fanatics who could not conceive of peaceful co-existence; and 2) they got kicked out of their galaxy for their failure to conceive of a peaceful co-existence.

**Roosterman71**--As much as I like the Naberries, Han and Leia remain my favorite characters in this fic.

**The-Knight2000**--Jacen is a jerk, no doubt. But there will be no Caedus in this fic. That's a promise.

**OrionTheHunter**--Well thank you, I'm glad you enjoy reading it! Welcome aboard.


	12. Girl Trouble

Author's Responses at the end.

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**Chapter Twelve: Girl Trouble**

"So, is she really going to do it?" Jor asked.

Karia looked from her brother to Jacen, who shrugged. The three of them and Anakin sat at one of the tables in the cafeteria in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant eating lunch.

"She's seventeen now, so legally she can. I'm not sure how happy mom is about it," Jacen said. "She really wants to fly."

"What about your dad?" Karia asked.

"He's worried. But you know Dad. Jaina had the highest index score of any pilot candidate ever. She scored even higher that Captain Celchu and General Antilles. I heard a rumor she might even be in line for Rogue Squadron. Dad's worried, but at the same time he's so proud he's tripping over himself."

"Are you thinking about joining?" Jor said.

Jacen shook his head. "I'm a fair pilot, but I don't have the passion for it that Jaina does." Although it seemed as if he would say more, the young Jedi stopped speaking.

"What about you, Jor?" Anakin said.

Jor snorted. "Yeah, you know I'm pilot material," he said. He finished off his second roll and stared down at his tray. "I'm a few months away from my lifeday anyway, so it doesn't really matter."

Anakin and Karia shared a look, and then turned to their respective older brothers. "If you two start fighting, can we take bets?" Anakin said.

"We aren't fighting," Jacen said indignantly.

"And there wouldn't be any point in it anyway," Jor added.

Jacen's brow shot up. "No point?"

"It's not like there is any reason to hide the full extent of our abilities," Jor said. "So, it would be unfair for you to even try and fight me."

"Oh you are so full of bantha poodoo!" Jacen said loudly.

Others around the cafeteria heard. Jor-El Naberrie shrugged. "Why would I lie?"

"You think _she_ cares what you say?" Jacen said. "She knows who the real Jedi is."

"Who's she?" Karia asked Anakin.

"I think they're talking about Danni Quee," Anakin said. "They've been visiting her and sending her flowers."

"You mean the scientist Jor saved?" Karia looked at the two glaring padawans and then snorted in disgust. "Come on, she's like thirty or something!"

"She's twenty-one," Jor said.

"And you're only sixteen," Jacen added.

"Oh, and your five months makes you so much older?" Jor snarled.

"You're both behaving like you're eight," Karia said. Both ignored her.

"Salle 8," Jacen challenged.

"Two hours," Jor agreed.

"Taking bets!" Anakin called.

Karia threw up her hands in abject failure. "You are all idiots."

Two hours later, Jedi Master Katarn joined Masters Horn and Cairnwick in the observation gallery along with fifty padawans and a fair sprinkling of knights. Nearby Anakin stood with a chastened expression on his face. His holopad rested squarely in hands of Master Cairnwick. "We don't object to a friendly contest," the former Rebel commando and survivor of the Empire's Order 66 said, "but we do object to betting on it."

Karia lingered by Master Horn as she stared down at the two padawans. "This is just stupid," she muttered.

"Yes," Horn said. "Girls do tend to make boys stupid."

"This whole thing is about Danni, then?" Kyle asked.

Horn nodded and Karia shook her head in disgust. Kyle merely shrugged. "She is pretty cute."

"Did you see her at the debriefing?" Horn said. "Once she got a few square meals behind her, she turned into quite the looker," Horn agreed.

Karia stared at her two masters. "You're trying to make this whole affair Danni's fault? Master Cairnwick, can you believe these two?"

The elder of them all, Cairnwick made a point of looking over first Kyle, then Horn, before smiling at Karia. "Yes."

Below, Jacen and Jor shed their outer robes held their lightsabers at bay. "So, any last words?" Jacen asked.

Jor merely shrugged.

The Solo children were widely acknowledged as the Jedi's Jedi. Raised almost from birth in the ways of the Force, they were as close to the old Order's ideal padawans as could be achieved in the new Order, where children were no longer recruited before age four. All three had superior dueling abilities, but Jacen was acknowledged as the best of them.

He stepped into the room with his saber at the ready, prepared for another episode of embarrassing Jor. Jor-El Naberrie had never won a sparring match with his distant cousin. His saber technique was considered passable by all the masters, but he lacked the inspired genius of Jacen's technique.

Most considered this match to be over before it began.

They were right, though not in the way they thought.

Jacen flashed his saber down with a classic opening blow that was supposed to cause Jor to roll to the side in order to open up his flank for a short, quick blow.

Jor did not cooperate as he had all the other sessions in the past. This time, the son of Kale Naberrie snapped out his hand with lightening reflexes and caught Jacen Solo's lightsaber. Then he held it.

Jacen stared in open shock. He barely blinked when Jor's blue saber hovered a few centimeters from his neck.

"You won," Jacen muttered. He stepped back and deactivated his blade. He noticed that Jor's palm bore an angry burn, but even as he watched the burn seemed to be healing. He could not see a hint of pain on his cousin's face.

It was at that moment that Kyle came down from the observation gallery and stepped into the room. He looked up at the shocked faces of all those watching, then finally at Jacen. "There is only one reason we allowed this contest to take place," Kyle said loudly. "And it was so you could all see this one simple truth. Jor-El Naberrie is his father's son. He is Kryptonian. That means he is a hundred times faster than the fastest Jedi, a thousand times stronger. Still not the best pilot…" That elicited a few chuckles. "…but nonetheless he and his sister are not ordinary padawans. They hid their abilities because they were ordered to by their father, but that time has passed."

Kyle did not like slipping into the Master role Leia had thrust on him, Karia knew, but when he had to, he wore the mantle well. "Don't think the other masters and knights haven't noticed the way you have treated Jor and Karia. You have all made presumptions, which we masters have been lax in correcting. No more. Kryptonian or not, Jor and Karia are your brother and sister. They are here as padawans to learn the ways of the Force. They are here to form the bonds that all Jedi should feel toward each other. The time has come for all of you to grow up, and accept them as the family they are!"

Kyle turned back to the two padawans, both of whom were under his care. In a very quiet voice, he added, "That was for them. This is for you. You are the two greatest padawans of your age. I will not have you stain this order with this stupid little feud of yours. Do I make myself clear?"

Jor and Jacen had the decency to drop their eyes. "Yes, master," they both said.

"Good. Besides, I have it on good authority Danni likes older men," Kyle said with a sudden, mischievous grin.

He turned and walked away before having to view the stricken expressions of his two students.

* * *

Leia stared dumbfounded first at Jacen, then at Jor. Then finally at Kyle. "I don't know what's worse—that my son and the son of one of my only cousin fought each other over a girl, or that the co-founder of the Jedi Order let them."

Jor and Jacen looked appropriately chastised. Kyle was grinning broadly. "That's nothing," Kyle said. "Anakin was trying to start a betting pool."

Very little shook Master Leia Organa Skywalker Solo, so when she literally started sputtering, the two padawans knew they were in trouble. Leia turned away and stalked back to her desk. Her aides were gone for the day, thankfully. "Kyle, you're not making me feel better about any of this," she finally said.

The venerably Jedi master held up both hands, and with his thumb and middle finger thumped each padawan squarely in the back of their heads. "You're both dismissed," he said. "Get out of here before she kills all three of us."

They scampered out as Leia continued to glare. "I wasn't done with them," she said a little coldly.

Kyle shrugged and took a seat across from her desk. "Too bad."

Leia sputtered again, but Kyle forestalled her with a hand. "Look, Leia. You're having to wear a lot of different hats right now. Jedi Master, politician, diplomat. You're looking at this situation with every perspective but the right one—a mother."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Danni is a beautiful young woman, with whom both Jor and Jacen spent time alone. Granted, Jacen was clothed so Jor definitely has the advantage there, but nonetheless you have two boys either at or near seventeen years of age both with an attraction to the same girl. Not even you can stop them from being competitive about it. Even the Force has limits."

"Danni doesn't view either one of them like that," Leia said. "She's an educated, intelligent woman, not a girl. They are both just boys."

Kyle shook his had. "You're wrong, Leia. I know it's hard for us to look at them and see the truth. Every year everyone around me looks younger and younger. But Jacen and Jor are men. In a way, Jor has already been through his trials. What he went through at Helska—what he did to save Danni—was extraordinary. Even for someone of his lineage, maintaining a Force-bubble without food for a week was just amazing. And don't dismiss Danni either. Jor is the spitting image of his father, and you yourself have told me how women twice his age would swoon over him when he was still in his teens. Danni may be too mature to act on it, but I've seen her around Jor enough to know there is an attraction. Jacen realizes this. That's why he made the challenge, and why Jor accepted."

"What do you mean?"

"Jacen was always the top of the food chain. And before you say anything, I don't mean to imply he abused it. All of your kids, Leia, are honorable, extraordinary Jedi. You have every reason to be proud, and so do they. But nonetheless when Jacen learned what Jor did, and realized just what Jor was, he felt threatened. Then you throw Danni into the mix, and frankly they were going to fight no matter what. By letting this match go through in a training salle, surrounded by three masters, a dozen knights and a whole horde of padawans, I made sure the fight was not dangerous. That's the best we could have hoped for."

Leia looked out the window of the tower over the glistening city at twilight. "I feel almost like I'm losing my own children," she finally said.

"You are," Kyle told her bluntly. "Leia, they're growing up. Fast. I have it on good authority Han's going to let Jaina's application go through unchallenged, and with her rating index she'll be in uniform before the end of the week no matter what he last name is. Anakin's almost fifteen, and frankly I think he has more potential than Jacen and Jaina combined."

"What do you mean?"

"In group exercises, his teams always perform better, Leia. I'm not even sure he's aware of it, but he has a profound battle meditation ability. Plus he has none of Jacen's moodiness or Jaina's obsessions. As good as you did with the first two, you really nailed it the third time around."

As intended, the comment roused a smile on Leia's lips. The two old friends sat in silence for the longest time, sharing each other's company. She knew over the years that Han harbored suspicions of the two of them, and had good reason. She genuinely loved Kyle, and not in a sisterly fashion. In many ways, the two men in her life were very similar.

But despite his many jokes to the contrary, Kyle was, is, and would always be wholly devoted to his wife Jan, and Leia was devoted to her husband.

"I had a vision," she finally said.

"Oh?"

"A darkness was coming. Long dark hands were reaching for me and my whole family. I heard screaming, Kyle. Someone calling for me. For Mother. But I couldn't help them." She took a long breath.

Kyle no longer smiled. He leaned forward and stared at her intently. "You told me once what Master Yoda would say. 'Learn to let go that which you fear to lose.'"

"You don't believe that any more than I do," she said.

"Yeah, it's pretty stupid," Kyle agreed. "It's a philosophical way of saying, 'Just deal with it,' which is less than helpful. But the only thing you have to be careful about is following in your grandfather's footsteps. Don't take an action out of fear of a thing that makes that very thing come true."

"And how do I do that?"

"Trust in your children," Kyle said. "Knighted or not, all three are powerful Jedi. And barring that, keep them in sight all the time."

"And the whole moral of this conversation is that I should take Jacen and Jor with me to Bastion, right?"

Kyle smiled. "Yep."

Leia shook her head. "Daala and Pellaeon are going to think we're invading," she said.

"That would be a refreshing change," Kyle said. "Oh yeah, let's not tell Jor his parents are coming. After what he did to Jacen, it wouldn't hurt to have his ego dropped down a few pegs as well."

* * *

The man known as Dorn Shaguer stood near the customs station as his charge stepped through the last security check with her odd companion. Nom Anor, the Yuuzhan Vong within the skin of Dorn Shaguer, felt a surge of anticipation inside for the chaos he would soon be spreading.

Elan was not just the daughter of the Most High Priest, she was, by Yuuzhan Vong standards, a woman of exceptional beauty. Anor had been among the infidels long enough to know that with her ooglith masquer she was beautiful even by human standards.

She walked like a queen, shoulders straight, expression disdainful and haughty. Behind her came the strange, bird-like creature that served as the priestess's familiar, Vergere. Elan noted the figure waiting for him and stepped directly to him.

He bowed. "I am known as Dorn Shaguer, a reporter for an important public information source. You are Elan Dartine, a fellow reporter." He handed her a small packet. "This is your identification and credentials."

Elan took the material, and they went on their way. As they started out, Vergere paused and looked toward a far column in the kilometers-wide customs station. In the distance she saw a figure leaning against a pillar, watching them.

She continued to stare a moment, before she moved on after her mistress.

* * *

**The-Knight2000**--I will say for the record that Darth Caedus will not make an appearance in the story. However, we may eventually see Hoth again. ;)

**Dajohu**--Anything for you, buddy. I agree making an a$$-whole have a heroic death just doesn't sit well.

**Roosterman71**--You took the words right out of my mouth. Literally.

**Mireilles3**--I have special plans for Mara that do not involve her completely idiotic and unnecessary death.

**David Relffehs**--Danni being able to drink water through it was supposed to be a clue. I was so subtle no one knew what I was tryng to say. The bubble was semi-permeable adn allowed the exchange of gases. It didn't become dangerous until the very end when the whole cavern froze up around them. Good question, though. As for Jacen--I may present him as a little punk initially, but I give him a lot more honor and depth I think than the wanker in the NJO.

**Cat in a box**--NJO was so bad I never finished it. So I'm right there with you. ;)

Thanks for reading.


	13. The New New Order

AR at the end.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Thirteen: The New New Order**

The _Millennium Falcon _was a marvel of customization. Originally created as a light freighter, all semblance between the original Corellian Engineering YT-1300 and Han Solo's personal ship was left by the way years before.

Originally the ship had five cargo holds and cramped crew quarters that could sleep six. Most of those holds were converted to roomier crew quarters, giving the _Falcon's_ frequent use as family vehicle. The freight loading room was converted entirely to a heavy weapons facility, including both a proton torpedo and concussion missile launcher. The forward nacelles were refitted with heavy turbolaser cannons to augment the quad laser cannons. The engineering bay was retrofitted with Han's mine launcher, while carpeting was laid down through almost all of the deck plating. It contained the most powerful shielding available for a ship its size with an avionics and navigation sensor suite that was unmatched anywhere.

The venerable freighter had in essence been converted to a yacht with the firepower of a corvette and a communications and command suite in the number two hold to rival most heavy cruisers.

Still, the twenty-seven meter long freighter was dwarfed by the 700 meter _Majestic-_class heavy cruiser _Illustrious_ that provided escort to Imperial space.

"General Solo," Captain Shat'uri of the _Illustrious_ said, "we are approaching rendezvous coordinates."

"Roger, _Illustrious._ We are dropping out of hyperspace now."

The two ships dropped from hyperspace and found a familiar, if not welcome, sight waiting for them. "One _Imperial II_-class star destroyer," Shat'uri said. "Our sensors identify it was the _Chimera_, sir."

"Is Gilead meeting us personally?" Leia wondered aloud from be co-pilot's seat.

"New Republic envoy," a new voice piped over their speakers, "this is the Imperial Star Destroyer _Chimera_, Captain Havrison at your service. It is my honor to provide escort for General Solo's party to Bastion."

Han remained silent as the two capital ships went through the formalities. "Captain Shat'uri, New Republic Defense Force heavy cruiser _Illustrous_," came the captain's response. "We acknowledge. Is the _Millennium Falcon_ and passengers cleared to enter Imperial Space under a diplomatic flag?"

The ritual question was asked, and the ritual answer was returned. "_Illustrious_, The _Millennium Falcon_ and all passengers are cleared to enter Imperial Space under a diplomatic flag."

"Thank you, _Chimera_. _Falcon,_ good luck and safe travels. _Illustrious_ out."

"_Chimera_," Han finally said, "this is the _Millennium Falcon_. We are awaiting coordinates and instructions.'

"Coordinates and instructions are on their way," Havrison said. "Welcome to the Empire, General Solo."

"I've been through that four times now," Han said as he entered the transmitted navigation instructions, "and it's just as nerve-wracking now as it was the first time."

Leia nodded, and then turned to face her son. "Jacen, are you okay?"

Jacen nodded. "I'm just curious why I'm here."

"Education, my boy," Han said. "It's good to see the New Empire compared to the old."

Jacen shrugged, left the cockpit and wondered back into the main lounge. He paused at the opening of the room when he saw Danni Quee and Jor leaning over the old dejarik table in the middle of a game. Danni was laughing brightly at something Jor said while the last of Jor's holographic pieces squealed in pain at Danni's latest move.

Jacen bit down on his initial reaction and instead chose to focus his attention on Mara Jade Naberrie.

As a boy, Jacen remembered spending many weeks and even months with his cousins, and he always thought that Mara was among the most beautiful women alive. She was still beautiful many years later, but the luminous nature of her beauty had dulled before the ravaging effects of her illness.

She sat there now reading a holopad while Kale simply sat beside her with an arm around her shoulder.

"Jacen," Kale said as the younger Jedi entered.

"We've entered Imperial space," Jacen reported as Danni and Jor also looked up. Danni smiled at him and he had to struggle not to miss his step. He wandered over to the table. "Who's winning?"

"She is," Jor said lightly. "For the third time in a row."

Jacen bit back a caustic comment about Jor's strategic abilities. With Jor's parents in the room, even he realized such a comment would have back-fired anyway.

Danni was much nicer. "We played a lot of dejarik on Belkadan," she said. "Garth was an exceptional player and he taught me a lot." She stopped as memories flooded her. Then she forced her smile. "So Imperial Space? This should be exciting."

* * *

"They have a lot of ships in orbit," Han noted when the _Chimera_ led them to the home world of the Imperial Remnant.

"I'm counting five Golan defense platforms," Leia said.

"And twenty star destroyers at least," Han added. "Fly casual."

"What do you mean by that?" Leia asked.

"I don't know. Fly casual, just don't look like you're trying to fly casual."

"Han, it's going to be okay," Leia said. "We're here under diplomatic immunity. The worst that should happen is that they run us back home."

The _Falcon_ came to the Bastion customs station that saw all traffic to the planet. They were allowed a prime docking spot and when the docking ramp lowered, they found themselves facing a moff in a light gray uniform, flanked not by storm troopers, but by officers in black. "General Solo," the young Moff said with un-Imperial like joviality. "A pleasure to meet you in person. I am Moff Saretti."

"A pleasure to meet you, Moff Saretti," Han said politely. "This is my wife, Jedi Master Leia Organa Skywalker Solo."

Saretti bowed from the waist. "Master Jedi, it is an honor."

"My son, Jedi Jacen Solo."

"Young Master, a pleasure," the Moff said smoothly.

"Miss Danni Quee, a survivor of Helska and Belkadan."

"Madame."

"And of course, Jedi Masters Kale and Mara Naberrie, and their son Jedi Jor-El Naberrie," Han said.

Saretti's eyes had already traveled to the last occupants to leave the ship. "Remarkable," the Moff said. "You don't look anything like a monster, Master Naberrie," he said.

"I know. Kale looks pretty good too," Mara quipped.

Naretti stared from one to the other, and then laughed. "Indeed he does. It is an honor to meet you all. If you come this way, we have refreshments waiting for you."

The conference room Naretti let them too was spacious, with a wonderful view of the red and brown planet below them. They could see large swathes of green where Imperial engineers continued their terraforming efforts. However, the view was not what captured their attention.

At the head of the long table loaded with pastries, caf dispensers and water, stood two giants of the Imperial Remnant.

Grand Moff Natasi Daala stood with her hands behind her back in a military stance all too familiar to Han. Her lustrous red hair had turned to a brilliant, beautiful shade of silver over time and hung down her right shoulder to accentuate the light gray Moff's uniform she wore.

Beside her, Grand Admiral Gilead Pellaeon stood at attention as well, resplendent in his bright white uniform. If anything, the two almost looked like a married couple of stern grandparents.

Han unconsciously checked to make sure his Navy blue Supreme Commander's uniform was as spotless as it should be. Then, it being a military meeting, he stepped forward and took the lead.

"Supreme Commander Pellaeon, Grand Moff Daala."

Pellaeon smiled genially. "Supreme Commander Solo, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Beside the Admiral, Daala's lips creased in the semblance of a smile. "I of course have already met you, General, but I will say it is a pleasure to meet you again."

Han inclined his head. "Your excellencies, I believe you have met my wife, Jedi Master Leia Organa Skywalker Solo. This is our eldest son, Jedi Jacen Solo. This lovely young lady is Danni Quee, a scientist and the first person in our galaxy to detect and then escape captivity of the Praetorite Vong. And finally Kale and Mara Naberrie and their son Jor-El."

Daala and Pellaeon both studied the last three openly. Finally, Daala said, "Mara Jade. I understand that, like myself, you have also had the pleasure of causing General Solo some pain in his life."

"It appears to be a popular pastime," Mara said with a smile. "I think back on those days fondly."

"Speak for yourself," Han muttered.

Daala laughed lightly, then graciously motioned for them to sit. "I must say, General, that the other moffs are intensely curious why you chose to come yourself."

"I'll tell you what I told Chief of State A'kla when we proposed this mission: to make sure you and Admiral Pellaeon are aware of how serious we take this threat," Han said. "I'm assuming, Admiral, that you had assets monitoring the battle at Helska?"

Pellaeon didn't bother to deny it. "That close to Imperial Space, we had several ships standing by. It was a spectacular battle. I have to agree with Admiral Ackbar's assessment of your performance to your Senate. It is a shame we lost you."

"Blame Toprawa," Han said. He did not blink an eye that the Imperial's somehow had obtained a supposedly secret copy of Admiral Ackbar's report. "Sometimes we discover that one line we can't cross."

"I understand," Pellaeon said with a dismissive shrug. "So you believe these Vong present a continued threat?"

Han nodded to Danni, who quickly outlined what she saw and heard while caught on Helska. Jor-El added what he could, though he had much less exposure.

Then Han removed a small datapad from his vest. "This is all the intelligence we have on the Vong. I've made sure to include tactical information and even cockpit recordings from our fighters. You'll see what tactics worked and what tactics didn't. When they come back, I want you to be ready."

"You're so sure they're coming back?" Daala asked.

"I'm sure," Leia said. "The Force is filled with approaching danger."

"They're likely to hit the same spot, or one close by," Han said. "It's their prime entryway into the Galaxy. And you're right next door to it. We're here because we want you to be able to hold the line with us."

Pellaeon leaned forward. "You want a formal agreement of some kind?"

"Ideally," Han said, "but I'm a realist. Any type of mutual defense agreement would be shot down by our respective governments. Another reason for me to be here personally. I am here to give you my word that I will devote all the resources I can to stop them on our side. But the very act of defending my space may result in the Vong attacking you. They destroyed two planets in the New Republic, one of which was heavily populated. Imagine what they will do in Imperial space."

"Yes, I read the reports about Sernpidal with some alarm," Pellaeon admitted. "Very well, General. I can assure you that we will actively defend against any incursion into Imperial space, and if that meams coordinating with New Republic defense, then, well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Admiral Pellaeon," Kale said.

The admiral turned his attention to Kale.

"I'm here for a far more personal reason, Admiral. I have a personal request of you and Grand Moff Daala."

Daala's cheeks flared red. "The man who killed the Emperor and nearly single-handedly wiped out the best leaders of the Empire is asking the Empire for help?"

Kale smiled wanly. "Yes."

Pellaeon very gently placed a hand on the Grand Moff's forearm. "What is your request, Master Naberrie?"

"Twenty six years ago, Darth Vader and a force of Imperial soldiers raided my home on Hoth. It was a fortress of crystal and the last remnant of my home planet's technology. I understand he took several crystals when he left. I believe the recovery of those crystals could possibly help me cure my wife of a disease she obtained while fighting the Vong on Belkadan."

"Is it serious?" Daala asked. The tone was completely neutral.

"I'm dying," Mara admitted. "Sporadic cases have appeared in other areas. It's an engineered bioweapon that resists all known cures. It is destroying my cells on a molecular level."

Daala looked down at her lap while Pellaeon shuffled uncomfortably. "Master Naberrie, I am not unsympathetic to the plight of your wife," Pellaeon said, "but I hope you understand the political implications of having the Monster of Coruscant rifle through the Imperial Archives. I can say with little exaggeration that you are perhaps the single most hated man in the Empire."

"You mean I'm not?" Han asked in genuine surprise.

"You're definitely in the top three," Daala said with the hint of a smile.

"I understand," Kale said. "But this is my wife, Admiral. I would do anything to save her. I am not your enemy. I am a husband trying to save the life of the woman he loves."

Daala looked up first at Pellaeon, who shrugged, then to Kale. "I'll grant you access on my authority," she said decisively. "But there must be conditions. Two storm troopers must be with you at all times, and your searches must be completely transparent. Your monitor will be mirrored by a team of slicers who will see every search you make."

Pellaeon looked stunned. Even Han appeared surprised. "You've changed, Natasi," Han finally said.

"So have you, Han," she said. "Perhaps we've all changed for the better."

* * *

The _Imperial_ II-class star destroyer, despite being in service for the better part of forty years, remained the pinnacle of starship engineering. The average star destroyer of this class was 1600 meters long and sported 8 octuple barbette turbolaser cannons, over 36 heavy turbolaser cannons and 20 ion cannons.

One ship was sufficient to slag a planet to glass. One ship historically was sufficient to bring terror to the hearts and minds of all those who opposed the glory of the Empire.

On this particular day, the Star Destroyer _Guntier_ flew in a picket formation with two gunboats and a single corvette along the edge of imperial space bordering the galactic rim. There were few habitable planets that far out, and even the stars themselves were older red giants or white dwarfs.

It was a boring duty, and Captain Shulshutz considered it punishment. He felt the whole situation was profoundly unfair. How was he supposed to know that her father was the admiral? It's not like he ever promised her marriage or anything.

Still, it could have been worse. Under the old Empire, he'd probably have been shot.

"Captain?"

Shulshutz broke his reverie and stepped down into the astrogation command pit. "Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Previously unknown asteroid," the young officer said. "It is large. Perhaps a hundred meters in diameter. It is coming in the midst of a shower of smaller debris."

"Can you trace where it came from?"

The lieutenant nodded to the warrant officer, who performed the calculations. "It appears to have come from…It's extragalactic. From beyond the rim, sir."

Shulshutz might have been on picket duty, but no one commanded a star destroyer for being an idiot. "Navigation," he called to the next pit, "plot an intercept course for those asteroids at best speed. Tactical, bring up the intercepted data from the New Republic's battle at Helska and compare the aggressor profiles with the profiles of those asteroids."

The executive officer walked by when she heard the captain's orders. "Should we contact Bastion?"

Shulshutz shook his head. "Not yet. Contact Admiral Stintiz at Braxant Command instead and advise him we are investigating a possible intrusion and will advise. If it turns out I'm wrong, then he'll be able to laugh at us without causing undo alarm. If I'm right, well then, it will be an interesting day."

* * *

While Han, Leia, Danni, Jor and Jacen spoke military tactics and Praetorite Vong with Admiral Pellaeon, Grand Moff Daala personally escorted Kale and Mara through the customs station.

The station was busy with the commerce of the Empire. Since the signing of the Bastion Accords, business was doing much better. Kale spotted dozens of races in standard spacer vests. Humans remained the majority, though. All gave Daala and her escort of storm troopers respectful distance.

Kale felt no fear among them, just respect.

"You're people appear very fond of you," Kale noted.

Daala looked at the spacers and nodded. "The original New Order had many concepts that were…unpalatable. The New Empire no longer accepts the Boy's Club approach to life. Females and non-humans are welcome to serve, and all are treated equally. Or at least, that is the ideal I strive for. There are a few pockets of resistance, but no one can deny the progress we've made since I assumed control of the Moff Council."

They reached the Grand Moff's shuttle, a large variant of the standard imperial shuttle with comfortable seating arrangements. The flight down to Bastion was almost pleasant. Daala inquired after their children, and expressed her relief that they were able to save Jor-El at Helska.

Eventually conversation slowed. "I met you once, on Coruscant," Mara finally said.

Daala stared for a long moment. "Oh?"

"You were with Moff Tarkin during on of the Emperor's socials. I doubt you would have remembered me. I was posing as the Emperor's personal dancer at the time."

Daala's eyes widened. "I do remember," she admitted. "But only because Wilhuff pointed you out. He said, 'She is as much a dancer to Palpatine as you are an aide to me.' It struck me, because that was the first time he admitted to me that I was much more than an aide, but was his protégé."

"The Emperor knew of you," Mara said. "He personally enjoyed when high officials in the court formed little courts for themselves. He thought it proof of Tarkin's abilities that he sought you out and brought you under his command."

Daala nodded and then looked at the window of her shuttle as they landed. It was mid-morning on the planet and Mara and Kale were both pleasantly surprised at the garden surrounding the landing pad. Unlike Coruscant, Bastion was not completely consumed in a planet-wide city. There was still space for landscaping, and in fact much of the construction of the planet was done underneath the surface.

The Imperial archives were a perfect example. On the surface was a tall, classical building with columns and steeple roof made from the local red granite. Beautiful gardens surrounded it. However, with his unique vision Kale could see that the building continued for dozens, even hundreds of levels below ground.

The archives did not have stormtrooper guards. Rather, the unarmored guards wore black uniforms and the traditional Navy cap. One of the guards made a show of opening the door for Daala and her guests and escort.

Inside, every person in uniform snapped to attention as they entered. The head archivist, a captain, rushed forward. "Grand Moff Daala, it is an honor to see you. How may I be of assistance?"

"These guests from the New republic have requested permission to do a limited search of the archives. I have given them my personal authorization under conditions. Please have a terminal opened for them with a mirror terminal and two slicers monitoring the search. Our guests understand their searches will be monitored. While they are here, I would also appreciate you extending every courtesy to them. I will leave two of my troopers here as their escorts."

The captain bowed to her, and then to Kale and Mara. "It will be my pleasure to do so. Is there anything else you require, Moff Daala?"

"That should be sufficient. Please contact my office when they are done." She turned to Kale and Mara. "It was a pleasure speaking with you both. I genuinely wish you luck with your search."

"Thank you, Grand Moff Daala," Kale said. He and Mara both bowed as the Grand Moff strolled out of the library.

In her absence, the Captain smiled. "Well, this is an interesting experience. We don't have New Republic visitors very often. Please, come this way."

* * *

Admiral Hanze Stintiz looked up from his datapads as his adjunct walked in. The rest of the command station on the rogue planet Braxant hummed efficiently under the Admiral's deft touch.

"Sir, we've not received any word from Captain Shulshutz regarding his investigation of the possible incursion."

Stintiz straightened. "When did he file his last report?"

"Three hours ago, Sir. Based on the information he provided, he should have made contact with the asteroid one hour ago. He does not respond to our hails."

"He's an irritating little nerf herder," Stintiz said, "and we're not going to discuss how he treated my daughter. I'd have shot him, if he weren't such a fine captain." The Admiral stood. "Contact Bastion Central Command and advise them that we have lost contact with a picket patrol investigating a possible incursion along the outer rim of our space. Then contact Commodore Gregari and order him to put together a taskforce to investigate the incursion. I want Gregari to be moving within the hour."

The adjunct saluted sharply. "Yes, sir!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

For those who didn't know, the delay in posting was the result of an injury to my hand that caused some nerve damage. I'm not feeling all that hot tonight so I'm going to speed through the AR.

So, Dajohu, divad relffehs, The-Knight2000, JC and Ghostdraconi, thank you very much for your reviews and feed back. Ghost, you're right, that was a error. Thanks for the catch. JC--Perhaps, but I'm not sure when. I'm stuck up to my neck in Harry Potter stories, and I want to make a serious go at some original fiction for publication. Slim chance, but I'll never know if I don't try. And Divad--I was trying to convey that they considered the matter a joke she simply didn't get. Sorry it bothered you.

So, thank you all for reading!


	14. The Serpent's Bite

Author's Note: Before we continue, I would like so thank Jedi-2B for her Beta-reading skills. Jedi-2B is my longtime beta reader from the force dot net and beta read the entire Legacy trilogy for me. I'm thrilled to have her back. I would also like to thank David Sunrider for his generous offer to Beta. I know some folks like to have a beta team, but I find I work best with one other person. So with her willingness I'll stick with Jedi-2B. Thank you both.

If you've not seen her name before, Jedi-2B is also a very accomplished writer who posts both on the Jedi Council boards and here. I have her marked as a favorite author on my profile. I recommend you check out her Star Wars stories.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: The Serpent's Bite**

Kale honestly expected his search to take many hours or even days. He was, however, surprised at how efficiently the Archive was managed.

Mara simply took it for granted. "Computer, search mission logs for Hoth, date range Year 19 to Year 24."

The archive's droid brain sifted through billions upon billions of terabytes of information in a matter of seconds. "Records found," the terminal responded with a soothing male voice. "Imperial Assault on Rebel Installation Year 22, Lord Darth Vader commanding."

"List all related artifacts recovered during and after the assault."

A list appeared, mostly of small munitions, a few prisoners taken (most, Kale noted with a touch of anger, were executed) and then came what they were looking for. Eight clear crystals, approximately twenty-eight centimeters in length, recovered from a structure located 200 kilometers north of the Rebel base.

"That easy?" Kale asked.

"The Imperial Archives, even in my day, were the best managed historical records in the galaxy," Mara said. "I searched them extensively looking for Kryptonite." She smiled as she held his hand. "Computer, what is the last known location of the crystals recovered from Hoth?"

"Last known location was Bast Castle, Vjun, Auril Sector," the computer said.

Beside Kale, Mara slumped. "That might be a problem."

"How so?"

"Bast Castle has been gone over by pirates, New Republic intelligence, the Dark Side Elite, Tavion and even Kyle Katarn and Jaden Korr. It's hard to believe anything of value is still there."

Kale shrugged. "We'll just have to go and make sure for ourselves," he said.

* * *

Despite her best intentions, Danni was enjoying the role of sandfly-on-the-wall as two old warriors exchanged pleasantries over glasses of Corellian brandy.

Grand Admiral Gilead Pellaeon was every inch the gentleman. He offered Danni a glass as well, but made sure to offer a more innocent carbonated beverage to the two young Jedi.

Danni tried not to smile at their betrayed expressions. Han didn't bother and chuckled as he sipped. Surprisingly, they did not talk about war or their handful of engagements against each other. Rather, they spoke about Daala.

"She married Liegus oh, ten years or so ago," Pellaeon said, speaking as if about a cherished granddaughter. "She did more to unite the Imperial Remnant than I ever did. After that last engagement between yours and Ackbar's forces at Mon Calamari, though, she decided to stop trying to be the military leader. Instead, after Vorn looked her up, she stepped back as Moff and truly found her calling."

"She seems happy," Han said. "Never thought I'd live to see that sight."

Pellaeon chuckled into his drink. "I never thought I'd share a bottle of brandy with Han Solo and his wife."

Leia nodded graciously but said nothing.

Danni enjoyed watching the Jedi Master as much as she did the general. The two of them knew each other so well, it seemed there was no need to speak. Leia knew this meeting was his doing, and seemed perfectly content to sit in the background.

Beside her, Jor and Jacen were trying valiantly to hide their boredom. Jacen leaned forward attentively, while Jor merely stared into space. She noticed he was sitting a little close to her, and as on Helska, she could feel heat radiating from his skin.

She decided it would be best not to think about it.

The door opened, and Danni watched as an Imperial colonel stepped into the room. The woman looked severe, with her hair tied back and tucked into her cap. "I'm very sorry to disturb you, Admiral."

Pellaeon put his glass down and nodded as he accepted a holopad from the colonel. Danni did not need the Force to see something was wrong. The admiral's ruddy cheeks paled as he finished. He placed the pad down and nodded dismissal to the colonel.

Han put his glass down as well and leaned forward to peer at the Admiral. "Do I need to guess?"

Immediately Danni understood.

"The timing does seem a bit peculiar," Pellaeon said.

Han shrugged. "I wanted to be here last month but we had to go through the Senate hearings first. I take it you have an incursion?"

The admiral nodded.

"It makes sense," Han said. "I've built a forward firebase and a taskforce of fifty ships to patrol the Helska corridor. It doesn't surprise me they would look for another door in. Admiral, is there anything I can do?"

"That remains to be seen," the Admiral said. He stood decisively. "General Solo, I would like to invite you and your guests on board the _Chimaera_."

"I would be honored," Han said simply.

For the first time, Jor and Jacen perked up.

When they arrived on board the flagship of the New Empire, Pellaeon led them directly to the fleet communication deck. A group of five flag officers were already gathered around a large holographic display table. They snapped to attention as the Grand Admiral walked in.

For some reason Danni always envisioned an Imperial bridge as being dark and brooding. This bridge was brightly lit, and the walls were decorated with a wide variety of art works, from paintings to sculptures.

"At ease," Pellaeon said. "Gentlemen, as many of you may know, this is General Han Solo, Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Force, and his guests. He is here to provide tactical information regarding the forces that attacked Dubrillion two months ago."

"Your visit is a little late," a thin, aging admiral said. "Grand Admiral, we are being invaded in force."

Pellaeon nodded. "Report."

The thin, old admiral motioned at the table and the holographic displays there. Han saw a red arrow stabbing into the edge of Imperial Space. "Admiral Stintiz lost a picket patrol and in response sent out a taskforce of ten destroyers under Commodore Gregari. This was Gregari's first, and last, report."

A face shimmered above the table. The man was middle-aged, with ash or soot streaked on his cheeks and a gash on his right cheekbone that bled down his other cheek. "Admiral, we have encountered enemy forces matching the profile of the Praetorite Vong that attached the New Republic two months ago. We are under overwhelming fire from a numerically superior force. We count five hundred capital ship analogues and a super-ship similar to the one seen at Helska. We have lost five destroyers, all our gunboats and most of our fighters. I am sending this message in the hope you can scramble the rest of the fleet. My ship has taken extensive damage and I don't know…. "

The signal ended abruptly.

"Admiral Stintiz has assembled the rest of his fleet, but against numbers and firepower like that, he admits he can only slow them down. The enemy appears to be heading directly to Bastion."

"Five hundred capital ships," Pellaeon murmured. "Gentlemen, it appears we have a decision to make. Bastian is apparently the target—it's where I would strike. Do we make our stand here, or do we fall back?"

"What about the civilian population?" another flag officer, this one a commodore, said.

"They would, of course, have to be evacuated," Pellaeon said.

Han watched for shock or dismay on the faces of the other officers, and was himself surprised by the lack thereof. "You have planetary evacuation procedures in place?"

"Never underestimate the advantages of an autocratic government," Pellaeon said with a chuckle. "There is a reason we do not wish to join the New Republic."

"The evacuation will take a minimum of ten hours," the Commodore said.

"Yaga Minor?" another admiral suggested.

"That's the only other world in our space with sufficient infrastructure to receive twenty million refugees," Pellaeon said. "That is not Muunilist, I should add. Contact Moff Daala and let her know what we are doing." He held up the pad Solo gave him. "This is a summary of New Republic intelligence on these Vong. General Solo has included cockpit recordings. Get it out to all our forces."

He then turned to Han and the rest of them. "You may wish to contact your friends on the surface to return."

* * *

"General Antilles!"

Wedge pulled himself out of his bed and stared up at the ensign. "What time is it?"

"Oh-four hundred hours, General. We've received an urgent communication from our intelligence relay on the edge of Imperial Space. The Vong are attacking the Empire in force. They've already burned through the entire Imperial Sixth Fleet and are en route to Bastion itself. The Empire has ordered a general evacuation of the planet."

Wedge shot to his feet and was pulling his uniform on before the Ensign was even able to finish. "Send an encrypted holonet message to Coruscant advising them of the attack. Get me Admiral Kre'Fey with the Task Force. Place the sector on alert. And someone get a message to the Imperials asking where our Supreme Commander is."

At the exact moment General Wedge Antilles was issuing orders on Dubrillion, Admiral Traest Kre'fey on the mostly repaired _Ralroost_ still in orbit near the shattered world of Helska sat up in the center seat when proximity alarms went off.

"Situation report?" the admiral ordered.

"Sentry droids report massive hyperspace reversions, sir. Hundreds." The Bothan clicked her canines together. "Vong profile, sir."

"Sir," Communications said, "General Antilles reports that a similar size fleet is attacking the Empire. Bastion is being evacuated."

Kre'fey left his command station and approached the viewer. "Do we have tactical on the incoming ships?"

"So far three hundred have reverted, and one big one similar in size to that which destroyed Helska, sir."

Kre'fey whistled, something very few Bothans could actually do. "Tell General Antilles we are also under attack, and to evacuate the fire base. We'll buy what time we can, but we can't hold out against a force that size. Signal battlestations throughout the fleet."

* * *

Kale heard it first, of course. He looked up and a moment later the archives began thrumming with the claxon. A moment later their host arrived. "Sir, Madame, we have received a general evacuation order."

"For the archives?" Mara asked.

"For the planet. We are under attack."

Kale and Mara shared a glance, then scrambled to their feet. The alarm had just been given, and yet as they left the building they could already see a transport lifting into the sky.

"There are places on our transports for you," the captain was saying.

Kale turned and looked at the man, then the two troopers behind them. "Those spaces are best served for your citizens," Kale said. With a "May I" to Mara, who nodded, Kale easily lifted his wife in his arms. "Captain, troopers, I thank you for your hospitality." With that, Kale and Mara shot into the sky.

Mara could tell the moment the Force bubble formed around them just from the way the wind stopped whipping at them. Kale moved faster than even the fastest transport and had them past the clouds and into the upper atmosphere in mere moments. His arms cradled her more gently than could any gravity seat.

They both felt Leia's inquiry in the Force and flew directly toward the customs station. "How long has it been since you've flown me around?" she asked as they broke through into the stillness of space.

"Our fifteenth anniversary?" Kale asked.

She nodded and then leaned against his chest. It was not a gesture of affection. "We're going to get through this, Mara," Kale said. "We will get through this."

"I hope so," she said, "because I am getting pretty irritated at being so damned weak!"

Kale kissed her head as he spotted the customs station. "You are many things, Mara, but you have never been weak."

Kale ignored the expressions on the faces of the station personnel as he flew Mara through the main hangar doors and brought them down next to the _Falcon's_ berth. Leia stood waiting for them with a pair of Imperial escorts. "Han's on the way back from the _Chimaera_. There is a massive Vong fleet on its way. The Imperials are massing their defenses, but it doesn't look good."

A few moments later a shuttle appeared in the hangar and flew to the berth ahead of the _Falcon_. General Han Solo emerged escorted by a pair of colonels and all three started jogging toward the _Falcon_. "I never thought I'd find myself worried about Imperials," Han said. He looked at Kale and Mara. "Did you find what you needed?"

"Vjun," Kale said.

Han nodded. "It's a start. Alright, folks, let's get inside." He turned to his escorts. "Gentlemen, please give the Admiral my regards. Thank you for the escort."

The colonels saluted, and Han returned the gesture before running into the _Falcon_. The moment he stepped in, he yelled: "Jacen, dorsal quads. Jor, ventral quads. Let's go, people, we're pulling out."

The _Falcon_ soared out of the custom's station just minutes later into a high orbit of the planet just as the first elements of the enemy fleet arrived.

Kale and Mara took the two back seats in the cockpit, and Danni, unwilling to just sit in the back and wait, stood behind Mara and held onto the back of the seat. What she saw through the windows was intimidating.

Even at the _Falcon's_ distance, she could see the sparkling dots in space that were the Imperial fleet. She started counting, and realized that with only a few hours' notice, Pellaeon was able to assemble an impressive fleet of over a hundred star destroyers and support vessels. Coupled with the weapons platforms, they formed a hemisphere between the enemy forces and the planetary shields.

Just a few thousand meters from the edge of this line, rocky-shaped enemy ships began to appear. The sudden sheet of green turbolaser fire looked almost like a waterfall falling from the edge of the planet. Danni stared, entranced, as the massive release of deadly energy slammed into the first Vong ships. The forward elements of the enemy fleet to revert from hyperspace simply vaporized under the firepower.

"Haven't seen anything like that since Coruscant," Han said into the eerie silence of the bridge. The lights from the battle flashed like strobes against the interior of the outrigger cockpit.

"Are we sticking around?" Leia asked.

"For a bit," Han said. "I want to see how the Imperial fleet holds up."

Danni said nothing, too amazed to speak. The _Falcon_ stayed on the periphery of the battle, drifting in a natural orbit away from the customs station while remaining out of the flight path for the thousands of transports fleeing the planet surface. Still, they felt very close to the battle when the first of the analogue capital ships arrived, easily a thousand meters long. It looked like a giant, egg-shaped piece of Mon Calamari coral with hundreds of odd protrusions that immediately started returning fire.

Almost immediately explosions appeared on the far side of the enemy heavy cruiser. "Pellaeon is one fast bastard," Han said with open admiration. "He's already using the flanking maneuver. Those are TIE-bombers hitting the opposite side of the shields."

The first handful of Vong capital ships lasted only long enough to get a few shots off before the astounding concentration of Imperial fire split them open like eggs. "Are they going to be able to win?" Danni asked.

Before the last words left her mouth, hundreds of ships appeared, one after the other in quick succession. The green sheets of turbolaser fire did not lessen, but now orange filled the sky as the enemy answered with bursts of plasma.

A moment later, a huge disc lined with spokes like the arms of a galaxy dropped out of hyperspace and began flooding the whole theater with a barrage of fire three times heavier than the combined firepower of the entire Imperial fleet.

The first Star Destroyer blew in a spectacular cloud of flame, which died as quickly as the pour souls within the ship itself. The blackened hulk immediately started drifting planet-ward as it lost its orbit. A second followed quickly, while smaller explosions marked the deaths of frigates, corvettes and gunboats.

Shots showered past the Imperial fleet to begin bombarding the planetary shields. Those areas not shielded vaporized under the assault in mushroom clouds visible even from orbit.

"Average _Imperial-II_ star destroyer has a crew of over 37,000," Han said softly. The third and four destroyers exploded while the Imperial fleet continued to concentrate on the smaller vessels. Suddenly a large explosion lit the sky just off the bow of the Vong supership.

"Looks like Pellaeon's trying to employ the Freedom's Hammer ploy," Han said.

Leia took his hand. "There were still people on that ship," she said softly.

Han nodded soberly, and suddenly Danni understood. Imperial ships were sacrificing themselves while attempting to ram the supership.

As Imperial casualties mounted, the defensive line somehow continued to hold as they bought precious seconds for their citizens.

"Han, it's time to go," Leia said.

Solo looked at her, then over his shoulder at Kale and Mara. Finally his eyes met Danni's. With a final nod to himself, he turned the _Falcon_ away from the battle and made best speed toward the New Republic.

Danni left the cockpit the moment they left the battle and made her way past the lounge, into her guest quarters. The room was just large enough to hold a locker, a narrow bed, and a narrow room to a shared fresher. However, Leia made sure she didn't have to share.

She sat on her cot, and pulled out her holopad. It was a larger pad than most, but with nothing to indicate it came from Alpha Blue. She pressed her thumb against the screen, and a moment later it unlocked the data.

She made a few notes on the battle, then saved what she had and stared into space for the longest time.

Somehow, she was not surprised when she heard the knock at her door. "Come on in, Jacen," she said.

Jacen opened the door and blinked. "You knew it was me?"

"I had a fifty percent chance of being right," she said with a gentle smile.

"We need to start training you in the Force," Jacen announced. "Then it wouldn't be a matter of chance."

"Fighting is not my thing."

"The Jedi do more than just fight," he said defensively. "Anyway, I was just checking to see if there was anything you needed."

"I'm fine," she said. "Thank you, Jacen."

He nodded and left through the door. Danni didn't take her eyes off the door and a few minutes later there came another knock. "Come in, Jor."

The young Naberrie stepped into the room with a sheepish smile. "I'm hovering, aren't I?"

"A little. You and Jacen both."

Jor shrugged and managed to look apologetic and determined at the same time. "Sorry." He looked down at his feet for the longest time. "The Jedi say that there is no emotion, only peace. But that's not true. I…" His cheeks flared and he stammered. "I'm just trying to say that…if you ever need me, Danni, I'll help you. I'll be there for you."

"That's very sweet, Jor," Danni said.

He smiled weakly, then fled. She knew deep down he wanted her to hug him, to initiate some close contact to reinforce the bond he thought they had. She also knew that she could not afford to do that. Not because she did not want to form a bond with him, but because she was afraid of the bond she already had with him. Every time he was close to her, she felt that strange aura of heat from his skin, and it reminded her of how very safe she felt when he was holding her on Helska. She remembered how he, and only he, could keep the monsters away from her.

She also knew he was only a boy, and she a grown woman. She could not—would not—allow her emotions to lead her down a path like that. "I'm the one in control," she said aloud.

A second later, Jacen stuck his head into her room. "You're going to want to hear this," he said.

Something in his voice had changed. She nodded and followed him into the lounge. Jor sat beside his mother with his father on the other side. Both were holding her hands. Leia stood near her husband. She and Jacen were the last to enter.

"Danni," Han said with a nod. "Have a seat."

She followed Jacen to one of the many padded benches around the lounge. "Alright, here's what's happening." He took a deep breath. "The moment the Vong attacked the Imperials, they attacked our taskforce at Helska. With an equal sized force, including a supership."

"That means almost a thousand ships," Kale said.

Han nodded. "Our fleet was forced to withdraw from Helska and Dubrillion, which was evacuated in time. We've fallen back to Dantooine, with elements of our second fleet deployed at Telos and Bimmiel."

"This is where it gets tricky," the general continued. "We're heading for Dantooine. As much as I despise the idea of taking teenagers into the theater of combat, the truth is those teenagers are both Jedi. Danni, I'm sorry to have to drag you along for the ride."

"I'm a scientist," she said quickly. "I'll use the chance to study them."

"Good answer," Han said with a smile. "No wonder the mopey twins have taken a shine to you."

The twins in question, Jacen and Jor, looked up as if shot.

Danni smiled to hide her embarrassment.

"Han," Leia said disapprovingly. "Sorry, Danni."

"What about us?" Jacen said.

"Like I said," Leia said more firmly, "sorry, Danni."

Han chuckled. "So, there we go. These bastards managed to throw a thousand ships and two super ships at us in two different fronts with spectacular coordination. There is no question any more that this is anything short of a full-fledged invasion. Kids, we're at war."

* * *

**The-Knight2000**--Thanks, I appreciate the offer. I'm thrilled that I got my original beta reader back for this fic.

**dajohu**--I appreciate the support. Sadly, this fic has not had the reviews I hoped for, but I really do hate to abandon stories, so I'll do my best to finish it.

**Blackdex**--fate smiled on me.


	15. A Line in the Sand

This post was originally intended for last Sunday but is late due to the sign-in difficulties. Sorry for the delay. Author's notes and responses at the end

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: A Line In The Sand**

The _Falcon_ emerged over an otherwise unremarkable, sparsely populated planet that in a few hours time would become a battle ground.

The moment they appeared in orbit, they received calls from Wedge Antilles. "Han, glad you made it," the general said. "Coruscant is going insane. I've had calls from nearly every senator, from the Chief of State himself, from Minister Rieekan, and my staff says about two hundred holoshill reporters."

"Can't say I'm sorry to have missed it," Han said. "Are you on the surface?"

"For now. We've got heavy civilian numbers here from the initial evacuation from Dubrillion. We're establishing fortifications and have a couple of battalions on the ground, but I'm not sure how ready we are for a battle."

Han nodded and he went through everything in his head. "I'll be down in a few."

He looked over at his wife in the co-pilot seat. "Wish I had a few dozen of your Jedi here now."

"You don't have a dozen," she said, "but you have five Jedi."

Han shook his head. "Jacen and Jor are too young…"

"Your son is one of the finest duelists in the Jedi Order, Han. He gives Kyle a run for his money. And Jor…Dantooine has a yellow sun. You do the math. And Kale's here."

Han gave that a thought as he dropped the _Falcon_ into Dantooine's well.

* * *

"I didn't think we gave interviews," Karia said as she, Corran Horn and Kyle Katarn walked down the hall of the Jedi Temple.

"Normally we don't," Kyle said. "This reporter just happens to have an important senator's backing. Kuat helped get a subcommittee off Han's back, and now that Senator wants to help the Jedi public relations."

"I thought the Jedi were already popular," Karia said.

"We were," Kyle muttered darkly. "Until Kyp went on his crusade."

Karia nodded and said no more. The New Jedi Order was not as reclusive or as mysterious as the old Order. Jedi knights were encouraged to live among the people they served, and with Leia's official standing orders that no one be admitted under the age of ten, and that family contact could be maintained even after admission, parents were no longer afraid of losing their children.

However, Kyp and his breed of new Jedi took a different approach to service, and took the lead in activities that in some cases did not need to be done, or in others already had capable leaders. The reputation of the whole Order suffered in the media and among the senate.

So, two Jedi masters and a padawan were about to give an interview to show they were human. Only, "So why me?"

The two masters shared a glance, and then shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough," Kyle said.

When they reached the room, Senator Viqi Shesh herself stood resplendent in her crimson senatorial robes. Karia admired how perfect the Senator appeared—every long strand of hair was exactly where it was supposed to be. Her skin was flawless. She was, in a word, beautiful.

Beside her stood a man of middle height and average appearance. He had a dull smile, but his eyes glittered with intelligence. Beside her, she felt both master Jedi falter as they entered the room. At first, she didn't understand why, until she viewed the visitors through the Force.

Shesh had a Force signature like any other. A little brighter perhaps, but that was not unusual in a leader. The man with her, however, appeared as a complete void.

"Dorn Shaguer," the man said with a bow. "I thank you for taking the time to speak to me."

"It's our pleasure," Kyle said smoothly. "Senator," he said to Shesh.

She inclined her head regally and they all sat down.

A small hovercam appeared over Shaguer's shoulder. "First, I would like to introduce you to the audience. This is Jedi Master Kyle Katarn, Jedi Master Corran Horn, and Jedi Padawan Karia Naberrie. Master Katarn is the co-founder of the new Jedi Order, of course, while Master Horn is rather well known for his own exploits. And Karia is of course the daughter of Kale Naberrie."

Dorn made a show of making a note on a holopad. "First, Master Katarn, how does the Jedi Order respond to allegations that Jedi Knights have become vigilantes on the outer rim?"

"The Jedi Order is not a military organization," Kyle said smoothly. "We cannot order knights to do anything. Rather, we believe that we must do as the Force directs us. That said, we do not as an organization support or endorse anyone taking the law into their own hands. If there are instances of Jedi breaking Republic law, then that Jedi should be brought to justice. What the Order strives for is to work with the Republic to ensure we are a force for peace first, and justice only where we are specifically asked to serve."

Dorn smiled and made a note. "Thank you, Master Jedi." He turned to Karia. "I understand you have only been at the Temple for a few months. What has been your experience as a new padawan?"

Karia looked from Corran to Kyle, then shrugged. "It's been challenging," she said. "I take classes like any other kid, and then have to learn to master the Force on top of everything. But Master Horn has been really great."

"I understand that your mother, Mara Jade, has been ill the past few months. I hope she is doing better?"

Before Karia could answer, Corran placed a hand on her arm. "Mr. Shaguer, I have a question for you, and for you, Senator Shesh."

"Me?" the senator asked.

"Yes. I was at Belkadan right after the Praetorite Vong destroyed the planet and killed the Ex-Gal staff there. I encountered a Vong and we fought. Did you, Senator, knowingly bring a Vong into our midst, or did he have you fooled?"

There were no rushed denials or indignant sounds. Instead, Dorn Shaguer's left pupil suddenly, inexplicably expanded a second before shooting something directly at Karia.

As fast as the two Jedi were, Karia was faster. She pushed both men away from her as the full force of the venom hit her in the face. She felt an odd tingling on her skin and in her throat when she took a deep breath, but nothing else.

She flew forward as Dorn Shaguer gaped, and hit him with her open palm in the center of his chest.

The Vong flew from his seat and crashed against the wall where he slumped. The young Padawan then turned to the stunned Shesh. "Did you know what he was?" she demanded angrily. She grabbed the senator's robes. "Did you know?"

"Padawan!" Corran's voice ripped through Karia's anger. The cloud of poison was quickly being cleared by the room's ventilation system. She stepped back wide-eyed, then let her hands fall.

"I swear I didn't know," Shesh said.

Corran nodded. "I believe you. However, I'm sure your colleagues will want to discuss this with you."

Kyle picked himself up and stepped to Karia's side. "You okay?"

She nodded. "It was a poison of some kind, but I'm okay."

Kyle stepped past her and looked down at the unconscious Dorn Shaguer. "Well, I think I'll give my wife a call. I bet Jan would love to get her hands on a Praetorite Vong."

"I'm more concerned about other infiltrators," Corran said. He turned to Shesh. "Is he the only reporter you've met with?"

Shesh looked from one Jedi master to the other, then shook her head. "There was another. A woman and her companion. The woman was a reporter."

"A'kla's press conference," Kyle suddenly said.

"It's going on right now," Horn muttered. He turned to Karia. "Stay here. Do not let either of them go." The two men spun on their heals and left Karia staring after them in concern.

* * *

Danni Quee found herself in an odd position. She was basically caught in the draft of General Solo's wake, unable to escape and frankly unsure of where to escape to. Her home on Belkadan was long lost. She had savings, of course, through one of the many interstellar banks in the Republic, but she had no idea what to do with the credits. She had no home, she had no idea where her parents were, and had no clear purpose other than to tell people about her experiences.

She made her notes like Director Ors asked her to, but otherwise she did not seem to have a purpose.

The _Falcon_ set down in a grassy field next to a large, gray box that appeared to have been dropped directly from orbit. Around the box were rows and rows of tents and pre-fab structures for refugees from Dubrillion, over two hundred thousand of them. The numbers were at once staggering and numbing. To think two hundred thousand people were displaced, and then to realize they were only those that were not able to relocate, made Danni's head hurt.

Remarkably, around the huge encampment the New Republic Army Corps of Engineers had built a series of fortifications of permacrete reinforced by durasteel, and energy shield emplacements where the turbo and laser cannons were being set up. All this took place in just a matter of hours.

She followed the general off the ship and once more found herself surrounded by testosterone. Jacen Solo hung close to her right while Jor-El Naberrie stood protectively on her left. She bit down a sigh. It was all very nice, but she really wanted to do something besides being ogled by late-adolescent boys.

Although, even she had to admit curling up with Jor was the only memory from Helska that did not hurt.

Still, enough was enough. As they were crossing to the command station, she took a step out from between them and turned around. She put a hand on each chest. "Boys, this has to stop," she said. "I tried to be nice on the way to Bastion, but you two have to understand something. I am not an object. I'm not a prize. I will not tolerate anyone fighting over me. So please stop following me like a pair of sad-eyed fluffy filatas."

They looked so stricken Danni didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Jacen's face flushed bright red while Jor looked as if he were back at Helska. She turned and left them there to deal with it and found herself almost side-by-side with Jedi Master Leia Organa Skywalker Solo.

"Very nicely done," was all the Jedi would say.

By the time they entered the portable command station, they could hear a voice ask loudly, "You want us to mine the lane?"

She did not recognize the face, but as soon as she followed Master Solo around the corner, she immediately recognized the face. The man speaking was none other than the Hero of Yavin himself, General Wedge Antilles.

And Han was evidently giving him an order he didn't like.

"Yes," Han said. "Mine the lanes. With gravity well generators linked with seismic charges if you have them, max-yield concussion mines if you don't. They're going to throw a lot of flack at us. Right now we're down to just over a hundred ships. That's not going to be enough to hold the line. So we're going to change the odds."

Nearby another human with a commodore's rank insignia shook his head. "General, that's a violation of the Bastion Accords," he said. "You could get court-martialed for that."

Han shook his head. "Bastion belongs to the Vong now. Mine the lane, under my direct order. Log it in as my order only, and feel free to note your objections."

"No objections," Wedge said. "Just wanted to make sure you know what you're doing."

Danni watched as the supreme commander of the New Republic Forces shrugged and grinned. "I never have before, why start now?"

She felt a hand on her arm and turned to see a short, stumpy woman in the dark blue uniform of Fleet Intelligence. Her hair was silver and her monochromatic eyes a light shade of blue; her hand only had three fingers and a thumb. Arkanian. "Are you Quee?"

"I am."

"Come with me, please."

Instantly Jor and Jacen were there glaring. "What's this about?" Jacen said.

If the woman was intimidated, she did not show it. In fact, she looked openly irritated. "It's about her job. If you don't have one yourselves, be somewhere else."

Danni spared the two boys a grin and left. "Thank you," she said when they left.

The woman shrugged. "Just following orders. We've got observation droids, drones and pretty much everything else covering half the planet. The bosses are expecting ground combat, and we're going to be watching everything we can. And guess what? You're the only analyst we have on the surface."

Her science station was in a corner of the main command room that gave her a perfect view of the command staff. As the gruff young woman got her situated and showed her the basic controls for the many droids and assets they had both on the planet and in orbit, she glanced over and saw Leia kiss Han on the cheek before she, Kale, Mara, Jor and Jacen all walked out.

"Looks like the taskforce is back," the woman said.

Danni looked and on one of her many screens she saw New Republic ships reverting from hyperspace over the planet. She immediately saw black streaks and score marks on most of the hulls. One ship came out of hyperspace and immediately lost all control. The momentum from its reversion sent it spinning like a stick across the surface of the planet's atmosphere before it bounced back into orbit and continued on its way.

Immediately one of the fleet tenders went after it.

"They took a beating," the woman said.

"What's your name?" Danni asked.

"Shasgo," the woman said. "Lieutenant Shasgo."

Danni nodded and filed that away. "Danni Quee. Pleasure to meet you."

"All mine," the woman said shortly. "Here's my com frequency. My primary duty is ship shield status, but call if you need me."

"I will, thank you."

And with that, Danni Quee settled down in her seat and waited for the battle to start. She did not have long to wait.

* * *

The New Republic guards searched her thoroughly. Elan merely stood and allowed them their scans. They would find nothing.

Being this close to so many infidels made her skin crawl under the soothing pain of the masquer. The smell of them was nauseating, much less their unblemished, imperfect skin and faces. None of them knew anything about the true will of the Gods.

She was there to change their understanding of the situation.

With her credentials and those of her companion confirmed, she made her way through the group of holoshill reporters. She noticed many eyes following her and could smell the stink of male pheromones through the large room. She ignored it all as she continued to the front line of seats. She took a seat reserved for another reporter that, due to an accident in the female fresher, would not be able to make it.

Vergere hovered in the back of the room, ready to assist her mistress.

Nom Anor and Harrar's plan was beautiful in its simplicity. The current leadership of the New Republic was responding better to the invasion than was acceptable. So they would simply kill the leadership.

"Gentle beings, I present his honor, Chief of State Elegos A'kla."

The tall, gangly Caamasi sauntered onto a slightly elevated platform. He was accompanied by several high-ranking cabinet members of species Elan did not care to remember or take note of. The only thing she knew was that the leadership of the entire New Republic sat before her, ripe for the picking.

"Thank you, gentle beings," A'kla began. "It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that the peace we have all enjoyed for these past few years has come crashing down around us. We have learned that a deadly, vicious type of extragalactic alien known as the Praetorite Vong has invaded both New Empire space, as well as New Republic space, with a fleet nearing a thousand ships. The commanders of the New Republic Defense Force have fallen back and engaged this terrible enemy at great cost in lives and materiel. Not since the days of the Empire has peace seemed so easily shattered. As we speak, our brave warriors have drawn a line at Dantooine to meet this enemy, and all our prayers and the Force itself are with them. I will now take questions."

Elan raised her hand while running her tongue over the creatures nestled in her mouth.

The elegant Caamasi nodded to her. "Yes."

The doors at the back of the room exploded inward as two Jedi burst into the room. "The Praetorite Vong have an agent in the room!" one shouted over the chaos.

"Yuuzhan Vong!" Elan cried. She bit down and blew out death onto the elevated platform.

The cabinet members and the chief of state were too confused to react. Their security contingent was already diving at them, but it was too late. The guards simply inhaled the bo'tous spores as well.

One tried to dive on her. She spun away easily from the attack and dragged poisoned finger nails against the back of the human's neck. He did not rise from the floor.

Suddenly two men in robes were there, their mouths covered by breathers. Their light sabers lit the room. She turned to run, but one deftly flew over her head to block the door. The other came behind her. "Take her alive!" one of the vile Jedi called.

"_Krel os'a hmia vat a_!" Elan cried. She bit down on the mostly depleted bo'tous and produced a cloud just large enough. She sucked it in and cried in wonderful agony as the microscopic insects did their work.

"The Chief of State is dead!" a voice called.

Corran Horn and Kyle Katarn deactivated their sabers and looked in horror at the rapidly deteriorating bodies of the Chief of State and the entire Ruling Council.

Kyle summed it all up with one word. "Sithspit."

In the far back of the room, Vergere allowed the flow of terrified reporters to carry her out of the room. She would have to report to Nom Anor what happened. Still, she admired the two Jedi for their quick action. Though none among the Yuuzhan Vong knew it, Vergere was once a Jedi herself. Not a very pure one, to be sure. But the Jedi of old in her admired the new Jedi masters, who reminded her a great deal of Qui-Gon Jinn and an young Obi-Wan Kenobi. Perhaps less refined, but no less capable.

As the crowds started to break up, Vergere made her way to the nearest exit and left the room. She was almost to the nearest lift when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She started to shift her weight expertly to turn the grip and escape when a second hand came around and grabbed her by the neck with a steely grip.

She felt her whole body lifted easily from the ground and found herself staring down at a human with short brown hair and finely wrought features. "You were an instrument of the Vong?" the human said without a hint of human inflection.

Vergere pushed with the Force. The human shrugged it aside as if it were a mere breeze. Then he hit her beak.

Pain beyond anything in her experience ripped through Vergere as her beak snapped. "I ask again," the terrible human said. "You are a tool for the Vong?"

Vergere whimpered. "Yes."

"Yet you use the Force."

"Yes."

"You are a traitor to all then."

The man walked to the edge of the platform. With the chaos of the assassination just now hitting the pedestrian levels outside the senate, nobody noticed or cared as this stranger walked Vergere to the edge of the platform. He held her over the void.

"Can you fly, little birdy?" he asked.

Verger whimpered in pain and anger, but said nothing.

"Perhaps you can. Your survival is not optimal for my mission." His eyes took on a fiendish red glow, and Vergere caught one last look at his hellish face before fire burned through her skull.

Her cap of blue feathers smoked all the way down into the endless depths of Coruscant's canyons.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

First, I'd like to again thank Jedi-2B for Beta reading.

Dajohu, Roosterman71, wawaboy2 and borg rabbit, thanks for the reviews and comments. I admit my two Harry Potter stories got me addicted to larger numbers of reviews. It's good in a way to get back to my pre-HP review numbers. It makes those of you who review that much more important.

Thanks for reading!


	16. The Battle of Dantooine

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: The Battle of Dantooine**

Danni Quee's sensor log beeped. She turned and saw that one of the main observation droids liberally sprinkled among the hyperspace lanes recorded an explosion. She pulled up the imaging and saw a distant ringed shockwave rolling violently through space.

A second explosion rippled through space a few thousand kilometers further along, followed by a third and fourth. Suddenly the space was filled with hundreds of coral-like ships ranging in length from individual fighters to behemoths over twelve hundred meters.

She waited for someone to notify General Solo, and then remembered something. The Arkanian, Shasgo, said she was the only analyst.

"General Solo," she said lightly.

He didn't hear. She could see he was immersed in discussion with General Antilles and a holographic representation of the Bothan, Admiral Kre'fey.

She cleared her throat. "General Solo," she said.

When he looked up, she could see the glint of irritation in his eyes. "What?"

"The Vong fleet just reverted from hyperspace in the middle of your mine field."

"How do you know?" Han asked, gaping.

"Lieutenant Shasgo tells me I'm your only intelligence analyst."

"She's right," Wedge said with a chuckle. "Our five analysts were lost at Helska and frankly we just never got around to replacing them."

"Oh," Han said. Then he grinned. "Least we know the mines are working. That should buy us time. How many?"

Danni glanced at her readout. "So far we've spotted one hundred twenty capital ships."

"That's all?" Han asked.

"They've got Dubrillion," Wedge noted. "They need to secure a foothold. The ships coming at us are to ensure we don't hit them first. They're learning. Danni, can you bring up the tactical view on our holotable?"

Danni looked over the unfamiliar controls until she found what she was looking for. A minute later, an image of local space appeared in the large under-lit table between the leadership.

"We have a hundred thirty ships under flag right now," Kre'fey said over the holonet.

"I thought we were at one-fifty," Han said.

"We were," Kre'fey said darkly.

Han nodded. "Understood, Admiral. We're almost certain to see ground combat," Han said. "Wedge, get your fighters up and your ground-pounders ready. Admiral Kre'fey, the fleet is yours. Use whatever assets and strategies you see fit. We don't have the ships to evacuate all these people and fight a battle, so our lives are literally in your hands."

The hologram of Kre'fey nodded. "Understood, General. May the Force be with us all."

Danni turned her attention back to her intelligence displays. The Vong used their fighters to clear a path for their capital ships, but only after losing at least three smaller capital ships.

On a separate monitor, she watched with interest how the New Republic fleet organized itself. With no way to truly prevent the Vong from landing, Kre'fey dispensed with a protective formation and instead organized his fleet in an inverted hemisphere, like a bowl.

She immediately saw the benefit of this as the first Vong ships flashed into the space around the planet. The parabolic shape of the formation allowed all New Republic fire to concentrate with great effect on a relatively small area. When the first enemy capital ship appeared, it was struck by the simultaneous turbolaser fire of over a hundred ships. It cracked like an egg and exploded even as additional enemy ships appeared.

The opening salvo definitely went toward the New Republic as additional Vong ships appeared and then died. Then the larger enemy ships appeared. They managed to absorb an astounding amount of firepower before succumbing, and dished out as much damage as they took. The first New Republic vessel, a frigate, exploded.

The rest of the enemy fleet arrived, and it ceased to be a shooting rink and instead turned into a full-fledged, raging battle.

"Ships are approaching the planet," Danni announced. "Incoming."

Just minutes after her warning, she could hear the first explosions from outside. The whole center shook with the seismic tremors, but she knew their shields were holding. "Transports are landing ten klicks to the west," Danni called out.

Then she saw one of the transports stop its descent, spin around violently and then go flying out of control into a nearby mountain range. "We also have Naberries in the air," she called with a laugh.

* * *

"I can't really fly all that well yet, Dad," Jor called from his father's arm as they soared out to meet the incoming transports.

"No, but you can jump good," Kale said. "Grab a hold of one of those transports and follow it to their landing site. I'll try to slow their landing transports down."

"Dad, are you suuuuuuurrrrrreeeeee!" The sound was lost as Kale threw his only son like a missile across the sky.

Jor managed to turn himself in mid-flight. He could not fly well, but he knew from flying with his father that he could nudge his trajectory. He saw one of the rocky transports heading down and did so now, until he slammed into the hull like a missile.

He landed feet first and sank up to his hips in the tough coral. The ship continued without pause. Around him, he could feel the strange pulsing of dovin basils and saw the odd creatures all over the ship.

He then saw one of the transports go hurdling into a mountain and understood what his father meant by "slowing them down." He twisted himself around until he could see the landing site.

The Vong already had twenty ships down and their forces unloaded with frightening speed. He saw whole columns of short, reptilian creatures armed with smaller versions of the Vong weapons Karia described from Belkadan. He saw other creatures as well, tall, nightmarish monsters that towered over the landscape. One puffed out a ball of fire and he guessed their analogue. Other creatures like giant beetles scampered along with a proboscis that looked as if it could fire off a mean weapon. The largest creatures, though, looked almost like twenty-meter mountain ranges on six legs. Their shape seemed to shimmer, and he could feel through the Force how gravity itself warped around them. The creatures had a series of rocky, volcano-like protrusions similar to the Vong starships.

They had plasma cannons on them.

Overhead, another transport spun out of control and slammed into a nearby mountain range. _Dad_, Jor called through the Force, _why not throw them on the ground troops?_

_It seemed mean_, came the response.

_Mean?_ Jor could help but laugh. A moment later a transport came crashing down with stunning speed directly on top of one of the large beetles. Both beetle and transport, and quite a few of the smaller reptilians, disappeared in the resulting explosion.

The com in Jor's ear beeped. "We're taking fire already," Leia said. "The really big creatures are transports, and they are tough to bring down. We're hitting them with turbolasers, but we don't have any heavy cannons and their shields are taking it."

Time to stop staring, Jor told himself. He pulled his legs out of the transport as it settled to the ground. Almost immediately, Vong warriors spotted him and launched thud bugs at him. He swatted them down with his lightsaber as he continued to look for the best targets.

He picked out one of the largest of the creatures and jumped for it. His jump took him over most of the infantry directly on top of the enemy monster. It was as he was coming down to the shimmering beast that he realized that he couldn't really fly that well, and that dovin basils manipulated gravity.

They caught him like an insect, trapped between two concentrated fields of gravity. He could feel the fields pushing together and knew that if he were human, he would be dead.

He debated calling his dad for help, then dismissed the thought as way too embarrassing. If Jacen found out, he'd never hear the end of it. Instead, he reached out for the Force and looked for the dovin basils.

"Let's see what's stronger, the Force, or gravity," he said aloud.

He reached out his hands, and two of the dovin basil pulps squirted like smashed insects as he crushed them with the Force.

The fields immediately weakened and he fell to the creature's tail. He looked up as a horde of small reptilian bipeds fell on him with large knives and miniature amphistaffs. He tossed them aside and walked up the armored spinal plates of the creature toward its head. He heard a sizzle and turned just in time to receive a plasma burst as large as the family speeder right in his face.

* * *

Jacen's arms were coated in blood. His stomach heaved but he bit down on the urge to vomit. There was simply no time.

The little reptilians kept coming, crawling over their own dead in an insane attempt to breach the defense perimeter. Worse yet, they were getting close to achieving their goal just through sheer numbers. Around them, the shields continued to sparkle under fire from the huge walkers.

He tried not to think about what kind of numbers they would face if Kale Naberrie weren't destroying every third landing ship coming down.

Nearby, Jacen saw his mother wielding her blue saber with a mastery not even Jacen could have matched. On his other side, Mara Jade Naberrie fought with a grim expression. In the Force he could feel her pain even as she fought on.

All around them, Wedge Antilles's best soldiers lined the walls, holding back an unstoppable hoard.

Jacen heard a scream and turned as one of the civilians ran away from a pair of bodies. He spared a spear of concentration and felt nothing from the civilian. He had no Force at all; in fact he felt as if he were dead.

"Infiltrators!" he called out. "Mom, we have Vong in the compound!"

Leia looked down at the civilian, who was running toward a power conduit line for a wall-mounted turbolaser. "Go!" she shouted.

Jacen nodded and with Force-borne strength launched himself from the wall. The warrior looked up and yelled something unintelligible. Jacen pushed with the Force as he fell, and the Vong tumbled away under the onslaught.

The young Jedi landed lightly, spun his lightsaber, and prepared himself for a fight. The infiltrator touched a spot on his nose, and as the cowering civilians watched, the man's skin peeled back to reveal the scarred, heavily tattooed visage of a Vong. "Jeedai," the Vong snarled. "The Yuuzhan Vong have come. Your blood will feed the gods!"

"Hope they aren't too hungry," Jacen said.

The Vong charged. Jacen dove, rolled and kicked. The Vong _whoofed_ as both Jacen's feet sent it flying. The Jedi followed instantly. He jumped, then brought the base of his saber down across the Vong's temple. The creature crumpled.

Jacen motioned for a pair of soldiers. "We need to detain him for questioning." He found a captain in an approaching column of reinforcements. "Captain, we just caught a Vong infiltrator trying to sabotage the defenses. We need guards on all power conduits."

The captain looked at Jacen's lightsaber and his robes, and then nodded. "Yes sir, Master Jedi. Thank you!"

Jacen gathered the Force about him and jumped back to the top of the wall in one twenty foot leap.

"Stop showing off, Jacen," Mara said as she shot a reptilian in the face as it tried to breach the wall. Like Kyle Katarn, Mara was one of the few Jedi comfortable with both blasters and lightsabers.

"I don't think Danni's watching," Leia added.

Jacen felt his cheeks flame and said nothing as he continued the fight.

* * *

Jor became aware of an intense pain, similar to what he felt when Dad pulled him from Helska. He opened his eyes and found himself in the center of a blackened crater where the plasma ball had struck with him in it. Already more of the little infantry fighters were running toward him.

He stood up, looked down, and realized he was naked. "Ah Sithspit!" he shouted. The only clothes he had were a few tattered rags on his back.

The enemy didn't appear to care that he was naked, but he sure did.

Nearby, one of the walking mountains fired a series of plasma balls at the defensive wall and shield. They were much closer than he remembered.

Jor ran through the infantry as fast as he could, moving in a blur the Vong could not follow. He put the full strength of his legs into his run, and moved toward the walking mountain faster than a missile.

On the wall, Jacen, Leia, Mara and the rest of the soldiers saw something hit the side of the largest of the six-legged walkers. The creature raised its massive head and bellowed out an agonizing cry as its gravitic shields collapsed. The thing was easily as large as an Imperial AT-AT but lifted clean off the ground for perhaps fifty yards before it slammed onto its side against a rocky outcropping. The sound of shattered bone and armor reverberated across the valley almost as loud as the plasma explosions.

Almost at the same time, another transport ship came hurtling down onto a beetle just as it fired. Jacen realized at that moment that it was not Kale that took down the walking mountain, it was Jor.

He looked around as the New Republic army soldiers raised a cheer. The cheer was short lived as a wave of the reptilians broke over the wall. "We've got a breach," a young lieutenant started calling. Jacen looked to his mom, and then dove into the fray.

In the midst of the enemy line, Jor stumbled away from the monster, dazed by the strength of the gravitic shields. Instantly he was set upon by hundreds of the small infantry. He grabbed one by the tail and started using the poor creature as a club in order to make a path large enough for him to see.

He felt a cut on his arm and turned in time to see an armored Vong warrior standing triumphantly amid the smaller reptiles. "_Do-ro'ik vong pratte_!" the creature yelled.

Jor dropped his little infantry club, grabbed the amphistaff from the startled warrior faster than he could follow, then picked the warrior up and used him as a club instead. He was taller and made funny sounds every time his head hit one of the little guys.

Suddenly the ground before them cleared before an immense wind that sent the small creatures tumbling. Jor looked up in time to see his father land. Kale looked at the broken Yuuzhan Vong warrior with concern. "Were you trying to be funny?"

"A Jedi improvises," Jor said.

"A Jedi cherishes life," Kale said. "Even when we have to take it, we don't dishonor it. Using a living creature as a club…" He stopped, as if lost for words. Finally, he said, "That's something a Sith would do."

Jor stared a moment at his father, then with an angry shrug, swung the Vong warrior and threw him across the field into a clumping of warriors. "Happy now?" Jor asked.

"We're going to have a talk after this is over," Kale said. It did not sound like it would be a pleasant discussion. "Now, let's go drop some of those big walking mountains on the bugs."

"Fine," Jor said. He couldn't keep the hint of anger out of his voice. In fact, he didn't try.

* * *

"We're winning," Danni said to herself. "We're really winning."

Han and his command staff hovered around the holotable watching the space battle. Kre'fey's initial formation proved to be the deciding factor in the engagement. Playing on their knowledge of multiple attack angles, the formation allowed the fleet to target the largest enemy ships from a wide attack while the smaller gunboats and fighters flew through the enemy fleet itself to destroy targets of opportunity.

They had destroyed a full third of the Vong fleet with only twenty percent losses to their own ships. She switched her input source to the droids watching the ground battle. She saw a twenty-meter long creature fly into the air and come crashing down on one of the beetles. She zoomed the droid in and saw Jor, stark naked, flinging warriors around like toys and destroying everything in his path.

His father flew up and punched one of the tall, walking flamethrowers so hard the creature flipped and ruptured mid-flight in a massive fireball. The fireball landed directly on a column of the little reptiles.

She switched her view to the walls of the encampment. She saw the flash of a blue lightsaber where Jacen was leading the surge to push back a breach in the defenses. He fought at the forefront, leading the soldiers naturally.

She was not even conscious of switching back to Jor until she found herself staring at him again. His body was sculpted like a mythological Coruscanti god, lithe yet powerful. His handsome face was set in a stony expression as he destroyed enemy transports and vehicles, and occasionally whole squads of Yuuzhan Vong warriors or the smaller infantry. He moved with unbelievable power, and out there on the field, he did not look anything like a teenager.

"Why's he naked?" Shasgo said.

The lieutenant surprised Danni, who had to fight to keep from yelping. "I don't know," she said quickly. Her fingers switched the view to orbit, but Shasgo reached down and changed it again.

"He's pretty," the lieutenant said. "Arkanians have always striven for genetic perfection. I'd say his people beat us to the punch." She grinned at Danni. "Keep in mind that Fleet Intelligence sees everything you see, and knows everything you look at. Try not to dwell on the pretty naked boys too much; they might start to get ideas."

Danni felt her cheeks heating up, but Shasgo took pity on her and turned to leave.

* * *

Jor threw the armored beetle and watched it explode and take the little reptilians with it. He looked around for his next target, and felt a sense of shock that there were none. He spun around, and the only thing he saw was his father floating gently through the sky with a uniform.

"I figured you wouldn't want to go back to the base like that," Kale said. "If it's any consolation, that happened to me in the Death Star. Darth Vader saw me naked."

"What'd you do?"

"I broke his hand," Kale said. He handed the uniform to Jor and looked over the carnage as his son dressed.

After a moment of silence, Kale sighed. "Did I ever tell you about how your aunt died?"

Jor pulled on his slacks. "No."

"It was after Darth Vader killed Obi-Wan and murdered my parents. We were on her barge trying to defect to the Rebellion, when we were ambushed by Imperial forces. This was my sister, Jor. I loved her as much as you love Karia. I held her in my arms when the ship blew up around us. The blast killed her, and then came the vacuum and the cold. And still I held her, until there was nothing left…" Kale's voice stopped abruptly as the memories boiled in his mind.

"You've never experienced pain or loss like that, Jor," Kale said. "At that moment, I would gladly have murdered the whole Empire. I was filled with such rage. And yet, when I confronted Vader, I did not kill him. And I saved your mother, even though she was as guilty as Vader was."

"I would have," Jor said.

Kale nodded. "I know, Jor. And that's what worries me. You've not suffered anything like what your mother and I did. I understand what happened at Helska, son. I do. But I don't understand this anger in you, and this casual willingness to kill."

Jor struck out a hand toward the Vong. "What was I supposed to do? These things are evil. They want to kill us all. Of course I killed!"

"It's not that you killed them, Jor," Kale said sadly, "it's that you enjoyed it."

Jor stopped, frozen. His father turned away from him, and launched himself into the air toward the fortifications.

* * *

**Author's Responses**:

First off, thank you all for the reviews. I admit to having been spoiled lately by my HP story reviews. But my SW reviews have never been quite as numerous. Still, sometimes its quality over quantity, and I appreciate all your feedback on this. For some reason, this has been a very difficulty story for me to write.

So, without further ado, I'd like to thank: Gold; The-Knight2000; Team506; Ben; dajohu; Blackdex; Roosterman71; Radar666; wawaboy2; divad relffehs; and Mireille.

Questions and Answers:

Q: Was the villain Brainiac, or Darkseid or Doomsday Or the Eradicator?

A: Er, look, over there! A purple dog. (Without giving away too much, the Superman universe was inspired largely by the movies, and Smallville the Series. If that gives you any clues).

Q: Without Vergere, who will help Mara?

A: Kale, of course ;)

Q: I'm guessing Vergere wasn't one of your favorite characters?

A: Actually, it's even simpler than that. The NJO had too many characters. Each author wanted to bring their own people to what was a disjointed and poorly conceived of story arch. It resulted in an overly crowded stage. I'm winnowing the shaff.

Well, thank you all again for reading. I hope that you continue to enjoy the story.


	17. Setting the Stage

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: Setting the Stage**

Jor walked through the now open gates of the fortifications to roaring applause. He stopped, stunned, as civilians and soldiers alike applauded his efforts. He tried to be gracious, and for a few seconds was able to forget his father's words.

Then he saw his father, in the distance, carrying his mother in his arms. A second later, he felt a hand on his arm and looked down to see Master Solo. Over the roar of the applause, Leia explained, "She exhausted herself fighting."

Eventually they all made their way back to the command center. The mood was equally jubilant inside as they celebrated not just the victory on the ground, but also the victory in space.

General Solo walked up to Jor to shake his hand. "You and Kale accounted for more than sixty percent of enemy casualties on the ground," he said. "We owe you a great deal."

"Thank you, General."

He turned and saw Jacen there. The young Jedi was coated in blood, with a haunted look in his eyes. "I saw what you were doing out there," Jacen said. "Thank you."

Jor took the offered hand. It was wet. He looked down and saw green-tinted blood on it. He looked up, angry at his "cousin" smearing his hand with blood, but Jacen was already gone. Without anywhere else to go, he wandered off to one side while the officers discussed their next move.

He felt the blood on his hand and wiped it with disgust on the pants of his uniform. He wasn't sure what type of stunt Jacen was trying to pull, but he didn't appreciate it. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around.

All hint of anger fled his face. "Danni," he managed to choke out.

"I watched the whole battle," she said. She had a string of hair in her fingers, twisting it. "It was amazing, Jor. Everything you can do. I know it must have been hard for you to kill all those creatures, but you saved so many lives. Thank you." She leaned over and pulled up on the tips of her toes to give him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

The kiss was interrupted by a loud voice. "Everybody shut up now!" Solo screamed.

The whole room fell deathly silent as the general listened to something on a private headset. "Say again, Command," Solo called into his headset. Whatever it was so deeply bothered the general that Leia stepped to his side and put a hand on his back.

Finally, Han ripped the headset off and looked up. His face burned with open rage as he stared down his command staff. "We've just received an emergency holonet transmission from Coruscant. Vong infiltrators have assassinated the Chief of State and his entire cabinet. Minister Carlist Rieekan is among the dead."

Jor stood frozen in place like the rest. The general did not give them long to ponder what it meant, however. "Admiral Kre'fey," he said to the holoimage of the Bothan, "I'm placing you in overall command of the fleet. Coordinate with Admiral Jid'dya to ensure the front is maintained. I'm returning to Coruscant immediately." He looked around the room until his eyes fell on Danni. "Danni, download all of the tactical recordings and get ready to come with me." He looked around the room again. "People, I don't need to tell you what is at stake. We won the day because they only threw a third of what they had at us in Republic space. If even that much. Stay on your toes, and do not think for an instant that we are safe. I'll be back."

With that, the Supreme Commander strode out of the room with his wife and son on his heels. Jor looked over at the station where Danni was quickly loading all the recordings into a holo pad. The pad must have filled, because she grabbed a second from a nearby shelf. In the end she filled seven holopads with raw data.

"I'll help you," Jor offered. He took four of them and the two hurried out of the command station. Outside, news was spreading among the refugees about what happened. Jor heard cries of anger and despair amidst the crowd. Danni herself looked stunned.

He wanted to comfort her, but remembered what she said when they landed and chose not to. Then he saw his father and mother walking toward the _Falcon_. Mara was walking again, but leaning heavily on Kale.

No one else had a problem with Jor killing the enemy. He didn't understand why his father did. Still, he said nothing as they all piled back into the _Millennium Falcon_ for the trip back to Coruscant.

* * *

Director Jan Ors stood between Major Showalter and Colonel Belindi Kalenda, with Jedi Master Kyle Katarn by their side two days after the death of the New Republic's executive branch.

Seated across the table was a living nightmare of a creature.

Nom Anor's left eye was an empty socket after Intelligence learned of the poison in the orb. His lips were sliced repeatedly and cut back to expose the line of his blackened teeth. The tip of his nose had either been cut off, or his species simply didn't have noses. Strange spikes sprouted from his head and mandible. He was, by nearly any standard of aesthetics, repulsive.

"How many infiltrators do you have on Coruscant?" Ors said again.

"Millions," the creature said with a taunting, rictus grin.

Jan looked at Kyle, who shrugged. "He's a blank spot in the Force," Kyle confessed. "Just like the rest we've encountered."

"The assassin called out 'Yuuzhan Vong' before she released her biotoxin," Jan said. "Is this different than Praetorite Vong?"

The creature laughed harshly. "The Yuuzhan Vong shall sweep all the infidels from the galaxy," he said. "You will all shed blood to feed our gods."

"That sounds pleasant," Kalenda muttered.

Through the force, Kyle felt a surge of danger. "I'll be back," he said. He stepped out of the room, confident that the security measures in place would keep his wife safe.

Four Alpha Blue commandos stood guard outside the door and nodded as Kyle appeared. As the husband of their director and a Jedi Master, Kyle was a familiar face to Alpha Blue staff.

Kyle looked around the otherwise deserted hall in the unremarkable tower four hundred kilometers from the government sector. No one should have been able to trace them to the security house, and if someone did, the building was incredibly secure.

Not that it mattered. At that instant, every eye on the planet was turned to holofeeds to watch the emergency session of the senate, where the representatives were struggling to elect a new Chief of State.

Still, something was warning Kyle about danger. "Have we had any perimeter hits?" Kyle asked.

One of the guards shook his head. "No, sir. Nothing."

As soon as the words left the man's mouth, security alarms went off throughout the building. All four guards pulled their blasters and Kyle took his lightsaber in his grip. The sense of impending danger was overwhelming, but the Force could not tell him from which direction it was coming.

He heard a loud crash and spun around to find all four guards prone on the ground. One lay with his back so thoroughly broken his feet pointed to his head. In the middle of them stood a man of average height and appearance, with short-cropped brown hair and prominent cheekbones. He wore a black jumpsuit not so dissimilar to what Kale Naberrie sometimes wore.

At first Kyle thought the man was Vong. He had no presence in the Force. The only thing emanating from him was danger.

"Who are you?" Kyle demanded.

The man grinned, and then his eyes caught fire. "Oh, Sithspit," Kyle managed to mutter just as two beams of fire so intense they looked like lasers shot out of the creature's eyes. Kyle's lightsaber snapped-hissed on and caught the barrage with his blade a few centimeters from his head.

"Jedi," the creature said dismissively. He then punched the heavily armored door with a single hand.

Kyle could hear his wife's cry of pain and alarm as the door crumpled under the blow. A second punch, and the door exploded off its hinges into the room. The attacker stepped inside, and Kyle sprinted after.

He heard another crash as he spun around the corner of the now empty doorframe. He found himself staring at a line of holes in the walls between the interrogation room and the outside of the building. On the floor, Belinda Kalenda lay with her face staring up at him, while the rest of her body faced down against the floor.

Showolter lay crumpled in a corner. Trails of blood and crushed permacrete marked where he impacted the wall.

Kyle could not force his eyes to the other side of the room. He stood, frozen for the longest time, until he heard a faint gasp. Finally he turned and saw his wife in the corner. Her arm and leg were…. "Jan!"

He rushed to her, careful not to touch the pulp that was her right arm and leg. "Oh Force, Jan!"

"Kryptonian," Jan whimpered. "That thing was Kryptonian."

Kyle nodded. "He had the heat vision, just like Kale. Anor's gone."

"Belindi and Showolter?"

"Dead."

Jan nodded. "I need a MedCenter."

Kyle grabbed at the com on her belt and activated an emergency beacon. "I'm not going to move you," he said.

"Just don't leave me," she whispered.

He took her other hand and lay on his stomach beside her, gently caressing her hair as he rested his lips on her cheeks. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you," he whispered to her. "I love you so much."

"Shut up," Jan whispered with her eyes squeezed shut and her lips barely moving. "I have a headache."

"Okay," Kyle said through his tears.

* * *

Nom Anor did not dare move. The abomination that held him flew through the air without dovin basil or any other aid. It did not look at him, nor any direction but straight ahead. However, finally it found what it wanted and set him down.

Anor shrugged his odd-fitting human clothing on better and turned to face his savior. "What are you?"

The creature shrugged. "You may call me Reck Desh."

"You are not human."

"I am from Krypton," Desh said. "The same world as Kale Naberrie."

Anor felt his heart skip a beat. "Why have you saved me?"

"I have a desire to see harm come to Naberrie and his family," Desh said. "And it is my belief the Yuuzhan Vong can help me accomplish this goal."

Anor nodded as plans began percolating in his head. "Perhaps we can come to an agreement," he said.

Reck Desh nodded. "Perhaps."

"I must contact my people," Anor said. "Plans have already been put in place."

"Then do so," Desh said.

* * *

"You all know me," Borsk Fey'lya said from his floating senatorial seat. He addressed representatives from across the galaxy. "I have served this august body for the entirety of its existence. I served on the Rebel Alliance ruling council before we even founded the New Republic. I have fought my whole life for the ideals of freedom and justice. Following this heinous crime, a fighter is what we need! Experience is what we need! I offer you all of that, and my pledge that I will give my life, my soul, and every ounce of my being to the protection of my brothers and sisters in this great Republic!"

Applause roared through the cavernous chamber. Fey'lya stood alone, raising his arms as he basked in the sound. It struck him in waves that made his fur ripple and his heart flutter. This was the moment, he knew. The moment he had waited for.

When the votes came in, his only legitimate challenger, Omas, fell farther and farther behind, until it became a forgone conclusion with only three quarters of the votes cast that Fey'lya had won the office.

Ever graceful, Cal Omas interrupted the count. "Gentlebeings and fellow representatives, given the count thus far, Alderaan respectfully concedes the seat to the Senator from Bothawui. Fey'lya, my friend, I wish you all success in your new office, and for the New Republic."

Fey'lya nodded with equal grace, and basked once more in the new round of applause.

* * *

Four days after the _Millennium Falcon_ left Dubrillion, and two days after Borsk Fey'lya was elected as Chief of State, ten Yuuzhan Vong destroyer-analogues decanted from hyperspace between two of the three moons of Bothawui.

Four Bothan heavy cruisers moved to intercept the threat, while below planetary shields activated. Dozens of New Republic X-wings and E-wings soared out to meet the enemy from the sides of their carriers.

The Vong responded with a hundred coral-skippers while the 1200-meter ships began pelting everything in orbit with bursts of plasma fire. Defense platforms, orbiting stations and satellites all evaporated under the withering fire. As the heavy cruisers moved to intercept, they too came under the withering fire.

The Bothan ships were not without potency, however. Concentrating firepower they were able to crack one of the enemy ships. However, the cost was high. One of the three heavy cruisers began to list out of formation, and then rocked and reared back as it lost all longitudinal controls. Coral skippers hovered about it like carrion feeders, picking off the still living corpse. Finally, the ship exploded.

The second and third heavy cruisers continued fighting valiantly, hoping for elements of the Fourth Fleet to arrive from Druckenwell. The second ship died in a ball of orange hypermatter fire just as a taskforce of six New Republic star destroyers arrived from the Fourth Fleet.

The Vong ships inexplicitly turned and retreated from the battle, leaving two obliterated Bothan heavy cruisers and a third so badly damaged as to be useless.

* * *

The _Millennium Falcon_ arrived on Coruscant one week after the deaths of the Chief of State A'kla and his cabinet.

Han flew directly to the New Republic Strategic Command Base where he was met by his aide, Colonel Haaligas Koor, a Duros. "General," Koor said as Han walked in. The Minister of Defense has summoned you to the Senate."

Han stopped. "I thought Carlist was killed."

The Duros nodded. "He was, sir. The New Minister of Defense is Niuk Niuv of Sullust."

Behind Han, Leia gasped. "What? What idiot would place Niuv in the cabinet in the first place?"

"That would be Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya," Koor said. His large eyes blinked. "I tried to contact you repeatedly while you were in flight, sir, but my transmissions were cut off. I then received direct orders from the Minister to cease all further attempts."

"I'd better get to the Temple," Leia said. "Jacen, Jor, come on."

Han turned to Kale. "I may not have a lot of time," Han said. "What do you need?"

"A general clearance waiver," Kale said. "Mara's ship was recovered from Belkadan and is here."

Han nodded and looked from Kale, to Mara. Then he quickly hugged them both. "Look, I know we're not perfect, we Solos," he said. "But you gotta know we love you."

"We know, Han," Mara said. She smiled, but her face was so pale it looked shallow somehow. "And we love you, Leia and the kids as well."

"Take care of Jor and Karia for us," Kale said. "Please tell Leia and Kyle to keep a close watch on my son."

Han didn't understand and didn't try to. "I will," he said. To Koor he said, "Make sure they get what they need."

The two left, and he finally found himself staring at Danni. "So, you working with Jan Ors' group or in Fleet Intelligence?"

She stammered, and finally said, "Jan, I suppose."

"Okay," Han said. "Load everything you have into our systems here, and then take copies over to Alpha Blue. You report to her now." He offered a hand and she took it. "Good luck."

"You sound like you're going to go to a firing squad," Danni noted.

"No," Han said. "But I am about to lose my job." He turned to Koor. "Colonel, I'm transferring you to Admiral Kre'fey's command effective immediately. You don't want to be under me at the moment."

"With respect, General, I would serve with you in or out of uniform."

Han smiled. "I appreciate that. But you'll do more good in uniform. Now, take me to my doom."

* * *

The Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Force sat with forced patience outside the office of the newly appointed Minister of Defense for close to an hour. He did not bring Koor or any other aides. Anyone with him could potentially suffer.

Finally, the Sullustan female working as Niuk Niuv's secretary nodded. "The Minister will see you now, General," she said.

Han nodded once and then walked toward the familiar doors. He could not count the number of times he walked through them. The other side of the doors, however, looked completely different.

Carlist Rieekan's understated desk was gone, as was his collection of Alderaanian landscapes and personal holoimages. In its place was a large, obtrusive desk the color of pitch piled high with unorganized holopads. The walls were filled with Sullustan art, in shades of red and green to soothe the Sullustan aesthetic sense.

In the course of one day, everything to mark the man who held the office with honor for years was erased.

What really shocked Han, though, was that Niuv was not alone. Beside the new Minister of Defense stood Borsk Fey'lya himself. "General Solo," Fey'lya said. "It took you long enough to get here."

"I've been waiting at your pleasure for an hour," Han managed to say.

"Your place was on Coruscant, not placing the command structure of the New Republic in danger," Niuv said. "Have a seat, General."

Han sat down without saying anything.

"Bothawui was attacked two days ago," Fey'lya said. "A Vong force of ten ships destroyed our defense platforms and two heavy cruisers, crippling a third."

"Let me guess. They retreated," Han said.

"Yes," Niuv said, obviously surprised at Han's guess. "But the fact remains that the Vong have attacked an invaluable Core World."

"They attacked the homeworld of the newly elected Chief of State with a small force of ships, knowing they would be repelled by nearby New Republic forces, as a feint," Han said. "They obviously want to draw forces away from their beachhead."

"I don't care what the Vong want," Fey'lya said.

Niuv continued unabated. "You are ordered to relieve Admiral Jid'yda and the Second Fleet of picket duties at Bimmiel and Telos and order them to relieve the Fourth Fleet at Bothawui, Kuat and other key production facilities."

"That would be opening the door to the Vong," Han said carefully. "If we do not contain them, and then hit them with everything in the galaxy, we are at very best prolonging this war, and at worst losing it."

Fey'lya snorted. Niuv blinked. "General, you are under the mistaken assumption that this is a discussion. It is not. These are your direct orders. You will obey them, or you will be dismissed. Do you understand?"

Han understood very clearly. The move was an act of irresponsible cowardice and was guaranteed to end in disaster. If he agreed to give the order, then he alone would be forced to face the consequences. If he resigned, then Niuv and Fey'lya could appoint anyone they wanted in his place.

There was simply no good way out.

"I understand," Han said. "By your leave, I will return to Command and draft the orders."

"Then do so," Niuv said dismissively.

As Han was leaving, he heard Fey'lya muttering about having to meet two Solos in one day. Leia, it seemed, was next.

When he arrived at Strategic Command, there were several officers openly surprised to see him. He ignored them all and hunted down Koor, who was in his office. He snapped to attention and saluted. "General," he said. "I'm glad to see you survived."

Han grinned dryly and returned the salute. "It's a matter of perspective. I want a full command staff meeting in one hour, all flag officers, without exception. Set up holonet connections where necessary. It's important."

"So I gather, sir," Koor said. "It'll be done."

* * *

While Han and Koor were setting up the meeting of the command staff, Chief of State Fey'lya had another meeting with a Solo that he both anticipated and dreaded. It was a quick flight back to his own offices at the Capital.

"Thank you for coming, Master Solo," Borsk Fey'lya said as Leia took her seat. The two were alone.

Leia fought off her exhaustion and said nothing. She arrived at the Jedi Temple long enough to learn from Corran that Jan Ors was under intensive bacta treatments and was likely going to lose both her arm and leg, while Kyle was by her side. Fey'lya's summons came before she even had time to check her messages in her office.

Kyle and Corran Horn actually stepped in and for a period of twenty-nine hours were the functioning heads of the Republic. Emergency elections among the senate soon relieved them of the burden.

"You're welcome," Leia said carefully. "How may I help?"

"I am concerned about the Jedi Order's recent failures. Most specifically, the failure of two of your master Jedi to stop the assassin who killed my predecessor."

"I suggested to Chief of State A'kla that he have a Jedi on his cabinet," Leia said. "If a single Jedi had been present at the news conference, they could have sensed that the reporter was Yuuzhan Vong and stopped the assassination. The failure is not on the part of the Jedi, but on the part of the politicians who have refused to allow us to fully serve the Republic."

"An able misdirection," Fey'lya said with a toothy grin. "As good as any I have ever heard, in fact. However, the fact remains that your vaunted guardians of peace were not able to save the elected leader of the New Republic. Nor was your fellow co-founder able to stop the Vong from freeing their agent right here on Coruscant."

Leia said nothing—Alpha Blue and Kyle both failed to mention in any official reports that the attacker had the same speed, strength and heat vision as Kale Naberrie. It was a failure of communication Leia fully supported.

"Because of the threat these Vong present, we are faced with a dilemma," Fey'lya continued. "Build ships to defend our people, or fund an Order that has so far proved impotent to save our own officials."

Leia nodded. "The Jedi are grateful for the funds provided by the New Republic and have provided innumerable missions and services in return."

"Some Jedi have," Fey'lya said. "Unfortunately, many have worked against the government. In this time of difficulty, can we really afford to have you Jedi working at odds with the New Republic?"

"No more than you can afford to be without an able supreme commander," Leia said.

Fey'lya snorted. "I agree with you there, Princess."

The use of her old title was nothing less than an insult, if technically still true. With the death of the Organa family, Leia was in fact the legal head of Alderaan. She never formally abdicated the seat, though she appointed Lady Winter and her husband Tycho Celchu to serve as the administrative head of her adopted home planet in her absence.

She said nothing. Fey'lya, evidently expecting a retort, huffed in irritation. "I shall be direct," he finally said. "It is the opinion of this government that the New Republic can ill afford an autonomous body such as the Jedi to continue to function within our borders. For this reason, I have submitted to the Senate, and received ratification of, a bill bringing the Jedi Order under the executive branch of the government. Effective immediately, you and your Jedi will answer directly to me, or your Order will be cut off from all New Republic funding and resources effective immediately."

Leia stilled herself and kept her face completely serene, but inside she raged. She calmed herself quickly, though, and called upon years of diplomatic training and experience. "It is of course the prerogative of the New Republic to have expectations of any organization that receives funding. You are right to have that expectation. The Jedi Order is a religious organization. Perhaps it is time we distance ourselves from the more mundane affairs of state."

Fey'lya's jaw dropped as Leia stood. "Thank you for this meeting, Your Excellency. The Jedi Order welcomes this opportunity to free itself from any obligations imposed by government funding."

"You will lose everything," Fey'lya warned. All pretense at diplomacy fell away now.

"What is everything?" Leia asked innocently. "The Temple is wholly owned by the Jedi Order. There is no lease, and it is legally not New Republic property. As a properly recognized religious order, we are also tax exempt. We owe you nothing."

"Eminent Domain!" Fey'lya growled. "We gave that land to you, and we will take it back!"

Leia smiled and batted her eyes innocently. "That would be an unfortunate move," she said. "The Order is not nearly as unpopular as you would like to believe. But if that should be the case, do not worry about us. If we can survive a truly dangerous tyrant like Palpatine, we can survive you."

She turned and walked out on the stunned, growling Chief of State.

* * *

Across the city, Leia's husband Han found himself in conference with the entire command staff of the New Republic Defense Forces.

He looked over the faces and could see at a glance who was in Niuv's pocket, who was in Fey'lya's, and who was not. He felt a tinge of sadness when he realized just how many political appointees had risen to the level of admiralty in the fleet.

"I've just returned from a meeting with Niuk Niuv and Borsk Fey'lya," he said, intentionally leaving titles off. "I have been ordered to relieve Admiral Jid'yda of his picket duties at Bimmiel and Telos. I initially appointed Admiral Jid'yda to those duties under the belief that the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong must be contained at all cost. If we cannot contain them, then there is no possibility at all that we will be able to repel them. We do not know their production capabilities, but they attacked with a numerically superior force against both the New Republic and the Empire, at the same time. So it is safe to assume their production abilities are significant."

A few coughs and cleared throats made Han pause, but only for a moment. "As you most certainly know, a small enemy force attacked Bothawui. The attack was repelled. It is my opinion this was a feint intended to force reactionary leaders to make poor strategic decisions. I'm sad to say it worked. My orders were not just to break the containment of the enemy, but to pull our forces back to protect only certain, key worlds while leaving other worlds open to further attack." Han caught the eye of Wedge Antilles, attending through the holonet.

"My friends, I cannot in good conscience give an order that is both irresponsible, and frankly stupid. Therefore I have decided to offer my resignation as Supreme Commander. After serving first the Rebel Alliance, and then the New Republic, for almost thirty years, I have finally found a line I cannot cross. It is my firm belief that if we do not strike at the Yuuzhan Vong with every ship and every resource we have, right now, then we are inviting a catastrophe that could possible leave the enemy standing on this very spot within the year. Although I wish I were wrong, I know that I am right. My deepest sympathies for those of you who will be forced to deal with the consequences of what our leadership is about to do."

He walked back to the podium set at the end of the hall, and turned to face the stunned audience. Some were stunned that he so openly dared to criticize the newly elected Chief of State. Others that he was giving up so easily. In the end, though, it did not matter. "It has been an honor to serve with you," he said. "May the Force be with us all in the weeks and months to come."

He turned to Koor. "Make sure that is recorded and on the Holonet in the next ten minutes," Han said. "When the galaxy comes crashing down around Borsk Fey'lya's head, I want it on record so I can snub my nose at him and tell him and all of his supports that I told them so."

With that, Han Solo turned and walked away from the New Republic military.

* * *

I'd like to thank the following people for their reviews and comments:

Manus Dei; Bob-kun; Team503; Roosterman71; Exodus5; The-Knight2000; Mireille

Quesions and Answers:

Q: Just curious, would you cross over your current story with another other fictions out there? Like Dragon Ball Z? That would be awesome, to see a Kryptonian fight a Saiyan, or to have a Saiyan and Kryptonian half-breed.

A: Sadly, I've never been able to watch DBZ.

Q: I don't understand Kale's attitude because frankly what Jor feels is natural and what normal people feel in those situations. Having to deal with Kale's holier than thou attitude doesn't help.

A: Kale's concern wasn't that Jor was killing bad guys, but that he was enjoying it. That he was actually enjoying making his enemies make funny sounds as he uses them as clubs. For you and me, that may be reasonable under the circimstances. But for someone of Jor's power, Kale is concerned of what he might do in the future.

Thank you all for reading. I hope you continue to enjoy.


	18. Consequence

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: Consequence**

In orbit over Dantooine, Wedge's much-deserved sleep was cut cruelly short. "General Antilles?"

Wedge sat up from his bed and groaned. "What is it this time?"

"Sir, we have an alert from a perimeter droid. Incoming ships."

"Which vector?"

"They're coming from Dubrillion, sir."

Wedge jumped out of bed. "Set high alert throughout the fleet," he said. "Advise Command we have incoming hostiles. Do we have a count?" He was dressed and out of his command cabin as the lieutenant bringing him the message followed.

"Not yet, sir, but telemetry should be in soon."

Wedge burst onto a busy bridge. Captain Haltoon snapped to attention. "General, we've confirmed the Yuuzhan Vong are moving. We're received preliminary reports that both Telos and Bimmiel have fallen."

"Already? How many are coming at us?"

"We estimate eighty destroyer and heavy cruiser analogues, sir."

Wedge sighed. Since Niuk Niuv recalled Admiral Kre'frey and most of the fleet, Wedge had a marginal picket force of ten star destroyers, five heavy cruisers and a handful of support ships. "How soon will they be here?"

Captain Haltoon's shoulders slumped. "In minutes, General."

"Order an evacuation of the refugees," Wedge said. "Let's get as many away as we can. We'll hold them off as long as we can, and then fall back to Adumar."

"We won't be able to get many away," Haltoon said. "There are almost a quarter of a million people down there, and only a few surface transports."

Wedge felt the pit of his stomach drop. "We save as many as we can," he said. "But we don't have the resources for a prolonged fight. It wouldn't do those people down there any good if we die with them. The Minister of Defense has decided not to defend these worlds, and in doing so he's allowed the Vong an open door into the galaxy. I'm not going to let his order kill us all."

* * *

Mara fought to keep her eyes open. "We should have asked for a pilot to come with us," she whispered.

Kale feigned a scowl. "I haven't scratched the ship yet," he said.

Their communications board started beeping, and a mechanical voice emerged. "This is a General Alert to all ships in this sector. Yuuzhan Vong vessels have assaulted Bimmiel, Telos and Dantooine. All ships are urged to navigate around this region of space."

"Right where Han said they would come," Kale said with a shake of his head. "How did Borsk Fey'lya ever get elected to Chief of State?"

"Politics has always been one of your weak areas," Mara said, not without fondness. "For you, it's about right or wrong, good beings or bad. So where does Fey'lya, who at heart is a bad being serving the good side, fall? Why do all the senators, some of whom are good, vote this bad creature into power? It's the nature of sentient beings to make mistakes, Kale. Even you."

Kale looked at her. "I married you, so I couldn't have messed up that badly."

"I'm talking about Jor. And Karia." She struggled to sit upright. "We should have sent them to the Jedi years ago, Kale."

"Why do you say that?"

"You worried about him on Dubrillion."

Kale said nothing as he stared out into the blue swirl of hyperspace. "He felt nothing about killing those creatures," Kale finally admitted. "He was using one as a club. It was so callous."

"They don't show in the Force," Mara said. "To him it may have been like playing with a toy."

"Enemy or not, they were still living, breathing creatures," Kale said. "I kill when I must to save the innocent. But never so callously."

"And that's my point, Kale," Mara said. "I love you more than you will ever know. But there are parts of you that are blind. You get an idea in your head and you block everything else out. You had it in your mind that only you could teach Jor-El, never realizing that without different voices he would never learn what you needed to teach. You do what you think is right, even if it ends up hurting everyone you love."

Kale turned and stared at her. "Everyone?"

"I stayed on Naboo with you those first five years," she admitted. "But when I went back and joined Leia for more Jedi training and started taking missions again, I realized just what that choice meant."

"You never said anything."

"You wouldn't have listened," Mara said. "There are some things you are very stubborn about, and staying out of galactic affairs was one of those things. But I'm beginning to realize it was a mistake. You ask how people like Borsk Fey'lya can become chief of state? It's because people like you and me didn't do anything to stop it."

Kale said nothing for the longest time as their ship continued through space toward Bast Castle.

* * *

Karia and Lowbacca looked up from their table as General Solo walked through the public entrance of the Jedi Temple and nodded politely to the padawan serving as the receptionist. A few feet away was a small waiting area for those civilians waiting to be seen by Cilghal, Tekli or the half dozen other Jedi Healers.

The Order accepted almost all insurance carrier payments, and provided services free for those who could not pay. The medical services in fact were one of the few true credit-makers for the Order.

The main hall was not the normal place of study for padawans, but Karia liked the sense of privacy and belonging she felt there. It was a large enough room that she could work unnoticed, but yet still observe everything happening. Lowbacca had the same feeling.

So both noticed as the husband of their most honored Jedi Master walked through the door. He did not wear his New Republic uniform. Rather he wore black slacks with his famous blood stripes, a white shirt and a blue spacer's vest. He wore a blaster on his hip, but otherwise moved with the swaggered military step he always had.

"Karia," he nodded as he approached. "Do you know if Leia is in?"

She knew what he meant by the question. She closed her eyes, then popped them open again. "She just returned. She's really…you should go see her, Sir."

"Not Sir," Han said. "Just Han."

As he walked away, Lowbacca growled something. Karia no longer needed his droid and merely nodded. "Something is definitely wrong," she agreed.

Without suggesting it, Karia and Lowbacca put their holopads into their satchels and followed the general up the stairs toward the turbolifts that would take him to the tower and his wife's office.

There were a few study rooms in the tower, but the top was administrative and so Karia had little excuse to be up that high. Fortunately, she had other ways of finding what was happening.

She and Lowbacca settled into a study room one level down and Karia closed her eyes as she began filtering out the sounds of the world around her, until she heard and latched onto the voice of Leia.

"…as bad as we feared," the Jedi Master was saying.

"Worse," Han said. "Even A'kla would have seen how blatant the attack on Bothawui was. Only someone as belligerently stupid as Borsk Fey'lya would fall for it.'

"Fey'lya is short-sighted," Leia said, "but he's anything but stupid. You don't last as long as he does without cunning."

"So what do we do?"

Karia heard Leia sigh. "He's already introduced legislation to try and claim the Jedi Temple under eminent domain. I've called a convocation of the Jedi, but I can't imagine they would accept the idea of answering directly to the Chief of State even if it meant losing the temple. It smacks too loudly of the days before the Jedi Purge."

Han shrugged. "Well, at least we got Kale and Mara away. By the way, Kale said to tell you to watch Jor. I didn't ask about what."

Leia nodded. "I think he was disturbed about how Jor fought on Dantooine."

"What's the problem? He did a great job. He killed more Vong than anyone."

"He enjoyed it, Han," Leia said softly.

"Ah, a Force thing, right? Afraid he'll go Sith on us or something?"

Karia gasped and let the conversation fade back into the constant background noise she always heard. Lowbacca growled an inquiry at her. "Things are really going bad," she said. "She's going to call a Convocation. I'm not sure I should say anything yet. She'd know it was me." She shared a slightly chagrinned smile with Lowbacca. "They don't like it when I use my powers to eavesdrop."

She stood. "I've got to go talk to Jor. See you later?"

Lowbacca growled assent and Karia went on her way. She reached out in the Force and instantly detected her brother in the fighter simulation room. She could feel his frustration and a touch of anger. She sensed the Force presences of Jaina and Jacen nearby, and realized what must have been happening.

Jacen couldn't beat Jor in a duel any more, so he was beating him the only way he knew how. And instead of playing the high road, Jaina was right there with her brother, confirming not only that she was a superior pilot, but that she was far superior to Jor-El Naberrie.

Karia was half-way there when Anakin came tearing around a corner and ran into her full-tilt. She bent over to help him up from where he bounced back onto the floor. "Ouch," he said with flaming cheeks. "Why were you shielding? I didn't even sense you there."

"That's obvious," Karia said as she pulled him to his feet. "I wasn't shielding. I was just thinking. Where were you heading?"

"I felt Jacen and Jaina in the sims," he said. "I wanted to talk to them. Something I saw on the holonet."

"Let's go, then," she said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just hurt my pride is all," Anakin said with his father's grin. "I'm not used to bouncing off girls."

"It's good for your ego," she said. "It was getting a little big."

Rather than rise to the challenge, he nodded and continued walking. "What's wrong?" she demanded.

"I saw a report on the holonet about Dad," he said. "He's resigned. His resignation speech is all over the holonet and the senate is howling for blood. And I heard something about us, too. The Jedi."

Karia nodded. "It'll be okay, Anakin," she said. "You Solos always get out of trouble."

Anakin shrugged. "Hope so."

The two of them reached the sim room just in time to see Jor climb out of his cockpit with a deep, angry scowl. Jaina and Jacen looked…smug. Until Anakin walked into the room.

Karia enjoyed watching the three of them together. They were so deeply tuned to each other that they knew the moment Anakin entered the room that something was wrong. Jor followed as Anakin told him what he had seen. The five of them left the sims and went to a nearby lounge where a few other Jedi had also gathered.

"They're trying to evict us off Coruscant," the Melodie girl named Sannah said as Anakin and the others walked in.

Karia noticed the way the beautiful padawan's eyes lingered on Anakin's face and fought to keep her face blank. She didn't understand the touch of anger she felt, and so bit down on it.

On the monitor, the senator from Kuat was speaking before the whole assemblage. "…failed to save even our beloved Chief of State A'kla—because they put the needs of themselves over the Republic. This body passed the law authorizing the new Chief of State to bring the Jedi under direct management so that we could better utilize the resources they so obviously represent, and Master Solo brazenly refused the will of the people of this great Republic."

The whole senate rumbled angrily. The holoshills ran their holocorders across the thousands of senatorial pods to ensure their viewers saw every angry face. Kuat continued. "We are not barbarians," she said. "We are not the Empire of Old. There will be no Jedi Purges. Nor do I even suggest we bring contempt of Senate charges against Master Solo. But if the Jedi do not serve the Republic, then there is no place for them on this great world. I second the call to authorize eminent domain and take possession of the existing Jedi Temple!"

The whole chamber erupted. Karia was pleased to note that not all of the senators responded with approval, but enough did to make her worried. "What'll happen if we lose the temple?" Anakin said.

"Alderaan?" Jacen shrugged. "Naboo? Ossus? Who knows? But there's one thing all those senators want to forget."

"What's that?" Karia asked.

"Master Organa-Solo is also the hereditary Queen and Viceroy of Alderaan. She's filthy rich. And with that kind of money comes freedom. Let them scream. Mother will figure something out."

Karia nodded, then remembered her original purpose. She grabbed Jor's arm. "I need to talk to you."

Jor looked down. She was using super-strength in the grip. Anyone else and the arm would have snapped. "What's wrong?"

"Come on."

The two left the lounge. Karia looked around for a safe place to talk, and eventually they went back to the now empty simulation room. She looked around to ensure they were alone, and then said, "I heard you liked killing the bad guys on Dantooine."

Jor sighed. "By the Force, will everyone quit about that! I killed the bad guys and saved the good guys. Why does it matter what I felt about it? Jacen was coated to his elbows in blood. No one's accusing him of liking it."

"Because he didn't," Karia said. "He's still thrumming in pain over the whole thing, or were you too busy competing over Danni to notice?"

Jor shrugged. "It's no big deal, Karia. Really."

Karia slapped him so loudly the sound reverberated through the room. Jor-El straightened, his eyes flashing red. "I love you, Jor," Karia said. Her own eyes looked moist. "I heard Master Solo say she worried about you falling. Dad worried about you falling. I tell you right now if you fall I'll never forgive you. I will never forgive you."

The fire in Jor's eyes died quickly as he stared in shock at his sister. "Karia," he started to say.

Just then Masters Horn and Streen came tumbling into the room followed by half the padawans. "What happened?" Corran yelled. "We heard an explosion."

Jor unconsciously touched his cheek where his sister struck him. "We were playing," he lied as he stared at his sister. "We didn't realize how loud we were. Sorry."

"Playing?" Streen said. The elderly master's eyes bulged. "The explosion registered on our seismic sensors!"

"Remind me to tell you about the time Dad and me broke a mountain on Naboo," Jor said with forced levity. "Really, it's okay. We're sorry to have scared you."

The horde of Jedi turned away, though Corran lingered. "You might want to stay in here until that handprint fades," he finally said to Jor before he left.

Karia refused to turn around to face them, and instead looked up at her brother. "You're the most important thing in the galaxy to me," she whispered. "Please promise me you won't let the anger take over. Promise me that."

Jor grabbed her shoulders, lifted her off the floor and into a tight hug. "I'm sorry I scared you," he told her. "You're my heart. You're the voice in my head that tells me right from wrong. I promise I'll try. If you promise you'll be there to kick me when I need it."

"Oh, I'll kick you all right," Karia said as she wiped her eyes. "I'll always be there to kick you. I might even do it once in a while just for fun."

* * *

The_ Jade's Fire_ was a highly modified Naboo _J_-type star yacht. Like most Naboo ships, it had sleek lines in a red-gold hue picked to honor its pilot. The modifications were made by Mara herself, since Kale showed all the mechanical aptitude of a bantha. There were very few people she would let fly it. Those people included Karia, Jaina Solo or her brother Anakin, and that was about it.

Her husband was not allowed near the controls unless it was a life or death situation.

Still, she was very tired as she brought the ship out of orbit over the planet Vjun. "Nothing in orbit," Kale reported. "Not picking up any life forms on the planet. In fact, it looks pretty empty. And good news—it's not raining over Bast Castle."

"Good," Mara muttered. "Left my acid rain cloak on Naboo."

Kale snorted as he watched her bring the ship down on a pad directly in front of the sleek, dark remnants of Darth Vader's fortress. They could feel the Dark Side pulsing through the whole edifice.

They stepped out into a windy, dreary day. Although no rain fell, the air felt heavy with the threat and stung their nostrils with a bitter, acidic tang. Mara had her lightsaber on her belt. Kale carried his as well—not the Kryptonite-based saber, but the golden one provided by Master Qu Rahn years before. Behind them came Mara's astromech droid, R6-C8.

"Sense anything?" Mara asked.

Kale shook his head. "Let's go."

The castle was vast. To save time and his wife's energy, Kale simply lifted her in his arms, levitated the droid behind them, and drifted lightly through the unlit halls of the castle. Fortunately, he could see easily in the dark, but even so the whole place gave them both a chill.

At one point they could see that Bast Castle was nearly as well defended as the Imperial Palace on Coruscant prior to the Rebel strike that turned the tide of the war. They saw dozens of turbolaser emplacements leading toward the castle, as well as narrowed, controlled canyons that limited access and provided superb kill zones.

The lasers themselves were gone, stripped clean by metal collectors. The last time the Empire maintained any presence was during Tavion's brief resurgence, which Kyle Katarn and his apprentice at the time were able to put down. Since then, anything that wasn't bolted down was stripped by the many technological vultures that roamed the galaxy, leaving obvious gaping holes in walls.

In some cases, the walls themselves were gone.

"I can't imagine anything that even looked valuable would have been left behind," Mara said from Kale's arms. "I can't imagine we'll even find a working computer core."

"We've got to try," Kale said.

Eventually they rounded a ridge of stone and found themselves staring at what at one time was a majestic oval window rising several stories from the base of the stone. Just on the other side of the shattered window, they could see the shattered remnants of a black statue. They both caught a hint of the helmet. "Vader," Mara said. Her voice was oddly flat, as if she could not decide whether to hate the man or pity him.

Kale flew through the window and set her down. The once smooth surface of the statue was already pitted with the acidic rain that fell on the ruined world. In a few years, the statue would be all but unrecognizable.

However, other than the shattered statue and window, the hall was surprisingly intact. The air, however, was decidedly cold.

"The Dark Side of the Force is strong here," Kale said. "Tavion wasn't able to get it all."

"It's probably what keeps the scavengers away," Mara agreed. She stepped further into the hall. "I only visited this place once while I worked with Vader. This was his formal reception hall, but his personal chambers were at the top, there." She pointed up three levels to their right.

"That's as good a place as any," Kale said.

He flew her and the droid up and they stepped through a set of shattered doors, through a wide, twisting corridor, and into another hall, this one much smaller than the last. Pillars lined the hall on either side, though both could see the signs of the lightsaber duel that occurred years before between Jaden Cor and Tavion's people.

Mara, however, noticed something else. "Kale, look at the dust on the floor."

Kale did so, and immediately saw footprints in the dust. The prints themselves had a light coating of dust, but nothing like the accumulation around the rest of the room. They led around a pile of debris from the collapsed ceiling to a space behind a broken hyperbaric chamber.

The two and their droid moved past the debris and the shattered chamber until they stood and stared at a narrow line of shadow set between two pillars at the back of the room.

"I don't remember any mention of this," Mara said.

Kale nodded. "It's lined in lead," he said. "I can't see through the door."

"I don't sense any threat in the Force," Mara said. She pulled her saber. "No time like the present." They stepped to the line of shadow, and Kale pushed. A section of false wall slid away from his touch, and they stepped into darkness.

"R6, illumination, please."

The droid pulled a small hatch on the top of its head and a brilliant white light soon illuminated a large chamber. Facing them was a beautifully crafted painting of a stunning woman with long hair the color of hot chocolate, with warm, intelligent eyes and the hint of an alluring smile on her lips.

Around the portrait were other holo prints and disks showing actual images of the young woman. Some were printouts of articles, or descriptions.

"That was my aunt Padme," Kale said, instantly recognizing the face. "Queen Amidala of Naboo."

"Vader's wife," Mara said. There were other images scattered across the room. One was a set of tombstones in what looked like a desert. Kale scanned them with vision to match the best analysis droid. "Luke Skywalker," Kale read on the largest stone. "Leia's brother. He died just a day or two before Obi-Wan found me on Tatooine."

"The Emperor often wondered why Vader slagged the planet," Mara said. They continued scanning the room. On one wall was a lock of hair. Mara touched it, and had a ghost of a Force presence. "Leia?"

"He found out she was his daughter just before the Battle of Yavin," Kale said.

"I remember. He slaughtered the Organa family."

Against the far wall stood a pallet, still piled with bedding as if Lord Vader himself had just roused from slumber. She wondered briefly if he ever actually slept in it.

"There is no Dark Side here," Kale said.

Mara reached out to the Force, and realized he was right. There was grief and terrible sadness, but no actual darkness. Then: "Kale, look at the desk."

He looked and also saw it. It was a lead-lined metal box, perhaps a meter in length, and perhaps a third of a meter wide. The perfect size for the crystals from his palace. He approached and touched the box, when a light suddenly flashed.

The two spun about, lightsabers ready, when an image of Darth Vader took form before them. Only, this Vader did not wear a cape, nor a helmet. His chest plate was removed, and only the body suit remained. His face was oval, his eyes held an orange tint. Terrible scars were visible from the back of his head.

"Hello, Kale," the voice said. "During our first meeting on Naboo, I suspected you would be the death of me. If you are here, I am assuming that was the case. I have the crystals from Hoth. They are in that box. They are yours. But before you take them, I beg a favor of you."

The man once known as Anakin Skywalker chuckled breathlessly. "A favor from an evil dead man to the hero who vanquished him. With the crystals is a data chip. Please give it to Leia. I was not a father to her. I have nothing to give her but the legacy of her birth and her power in the Force. Even though the Emperor has buried her psyche, know that I have planted a key in her mind to save her. The code is 'Bail' for the man who was all the things she needed a father to be. The father I should have been, but could never be. Please do this."

The image faded. Mara sighed and only then realized she had been holding her breath. "He must have recorded that just weeks before he died." She turned to Kale. "Will you give it to her?"

Kale nodded. "I can give it to her. Whether she views it or not is between her and the ghost of her father." He flipped the box open, and stared.

"Sithspit," Mara hissed.

The datachip was right where it should have been. The crystals, however, were not. The room took on another glow again as another hologram appeared. This time the image showed a strong-looking human male in an Imperial colonel's uniform.

"Kale Naberrie, the monster of Coruscant," the man said. "Like Lord Vader, I suspected some day you may come looking for your precious crystals. The last remains of your home. Know that I, Baron Soontir Fel, have them. Come to me if you dare. I await you on Nirauan."

The recording ended abruptly.

"That explains the footprints," Mara said.

The two of them looked at each other for the longest time. "Your illness hasn't been a secret," Kale said softly, "but we also haven't been advertising it. But even then, how did they know I'd be looking for those crystals?"

"There's only one way to find out," Mara said.

"Where is Nirauan?"

"Wild Space, beyond both the Empire and the New Republic," Mara said. "If I remember correctly, it has a red sun."

"Of course it does," Kale said dryly. He reached out and took her hand. "That's a long way away, and the Vong are between us and that region of space."

"Yeah, so?"

Kale pulled his wife to him and kissed her deeply. He felt her melt against him, for a glorious moment pushing the terrible illness back. "Just mentioning it," he said at last. "You know I love you, right?"

"Never doubted it," she said. "Let's go to Nirauan."

"Okay."

* * *

**Author's Responses**:

I'd like to thank the following for their reviews and comments:

whateveritis12; Roosterman71; dajohu; The-Knight2000; wawaboy2; Exodus5; Manus Dei; and Mireille. Thank you all for your reviews and comments.

Now, for any Q & A:

Q: Is this new Kryptonian and OC or is that going to come into the future?

A: You will definitely see in the future.

Q: I'm not trying to argue about your response but "enjoying the kill" is part of life no matter how strong or weak you are.

A: Not a problem. I wasn't trying to argue with your response either. I was trying to impart Kale's perspective. That doesn't mean he's right. I make a point of questioning my characters in this fic. It's neither right nor wrong--they're just trying to make the best decisions they can. So no worries--I'm glad you're interested enough in the story to question it. Thank you very much for reading.

Thank you all for reading!


	19. Violation and Invitation

Author's Notes at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: Violation and Invitation**

Lowbacca finished his calculus homework and turned the holopad off.

Karia was still in the lounge with the rest of the padawans, listening to the news. Lowbacca meandered in earlier to watch some of the debates. The senator from Chandrila was lambasting the proposal to claim the Jedi Temple under eminent domain as spiteful and childish, and there were more than a few waiting to support her assertion.

Despite the fears of those around him, Lowbacca doubted the measure would work. For everyone who hated the Jedi, there was another that respected them.

The Wookiee paid little attention to the man who stepped through the front door, at least at first. However, Wookiees had intense olfactory abilities and the man who walked by the alcove where Lowbacca sat did not smell right. Lowbacca viewed him with the Force and felt a surge of adrenaline when he realized the figure was a blank spot in the Force.

He stood, turned a corner, and called out for Master Horn, who by then was in the library.

Corran stepped out into the foyer, where Lowbacca wordlessly pointed out the stranger. The man stepped into the center of the temple atrium and began looking around for something.

Corran stared at him for only a moment before he nodded. "Alert Master Solo that we may have a Vong agent in the Temple."

Lowbacca nodded and ran to make the call as Corran calmly pulled his lightsaber, and then slipped it and his hands into the sleeves of his Jedi robe. He walked across the atrium floor toward the newcomer.

"Master Solo's office," Phaesia, one of the executive secretaries, said pleasantly.

Lowbacca spoke softly and allowed his droid to translate that Master Horn feared a Vong was in the temple. Lowbacca finished the message and turned to see the impossible. Master Corran Horn flew through the air with a muffled cry and slammed against a wall ten feet from the floor.

Lowbacca reached out with the Force and softened the unconscious Jedi's fall. Without further thought he slammed through the shielding over the emergency lever and pulled it. The whole temple came alive with claxons. Jedi knights, masters and padawans poured out of their offices, lounges or rooms to view this threat.

The figure stood without apparent concern, searching faces. His eyes suddenly locked on Lowbacca.

No, the Wookiee quickly corrected, not on him, but on something just to his left. He turned, and saw Karia standing nearby. "What's happening?" she asked.

The man disappeared in a blur and suddenly was there in front of Karia, beside the Wookiee. With a roar, Lowbacca swung a powerful blow to the man's head. He caught Lowie's hand without looking away from Karia. "You are the daughter of Kal-El?" the man asked.

"Who are you?" Karia said.

"I am your doom," the man said.

Karia responded with spectacular power. She spun and kicked the man in the chest. He flew like a missile across the whole of the atrium and crashed through the balcony opposite. Lowbacca watched as Karia ran out into the atrium. A moment later, the Wookiee saw a blur and the man was there again.

Lowbacca tried to call out a warning as the figure grabbed Karia by her hair, spun her around and around and then over and down against the alabaster floor. The floor shattered before her impact.

Kyp Durron, home from his squadron, sprung forward with his lightsaber lit. The stranger caught the blade in one hand, spun and kicked with sickening force. Kyp tried to scream as his entire torso collapsed with a shower of blood and the snapping of bone. His shattered body flew across the floor where he landed limply. Everyone there could see the life leave his body before he even landed.

"He's Kryptonian!" Corran called across the room. The Jedi master swayed on his feet and still shook from his brief concussion. "Stay away from him!"

Karia somehow was picking herself up out of the crater in the floor. The man charged her, and both suddenly blurred. When the blur ended, the man held her by her lustrous red hair again. He pulled her back and then swung around until his fist struck her face. The blow once again blew her through the floor like a missile. He followed the first blow with a second, and a third, and then the blows grew so fast they became impossible to follow.

That was when Jor struck. Lowbacca caught a brief glimpse of Jor's face contorted in rage, and then it disappeared in a blur. Not even a heartbeat later Jor struck the enemy with the concussive force of an explosion. Karia spun away across the floor, completely unconscious, her face covered in blood.

Lowbacca felt a hand on his arm and turned to see a still stunned Corran. "We've got to get her away from here," he said.

Lowbacca agreed with a growl and followed the Jedi Master out onto the floor. Karia was heavier than she looked, which was not surprising since she did not look like she should weigh anything. He knew that was because of her unique physiology.

A loud crack caused them to look as Jor flew backward into an arch over the doorway. Both Jor and the arch came crashing to the floor, but the padawan was immediately back on his feet and exchanging blows with the strange assassin.

They made it to the second level turbolifts just as Leia burst from the doors with Han a step behind. She took one look at Karia and blanched. "By the Force, what's happening?"

The sound of an explosion caused them to turn just in time to see the attacker fly up through the roof of the atrium. A moment later, he blew through another section and struck Jor going so fast he was but a blur.

"I've seen fighting like that," Han muttered. "Twenty-one years ago. Here on Coruscant between Kale and Zod."

"The attacker is Kryptonian," Corran said. "He came in and immediately attacked Karia. Jor attacked to save her."

"We need to get her…" Leia started to say when they heard a loud cry and pain. All of them turned, and Master Solo cried out in alarm.

Jor stood with his back arched and his head thrown back in agony. A lone beam of scintillating green light protruded from his chest, just down from his heart. Behind him, the attacker stood leaning over him, whispering something only Jor could hear. The light went out and the son of Kal-El fell to the floor.

The attacker looked around with a smirk, picked Jor easily off of the floor and then floated into the air. He came closer to Leia and stopped five meters away, flying with all the ease of Kale himself.

"One child is sufficient," he said as he saw Karia in Lowbacca's hands. "The stronger one is preferable. I can kill the other child any time. Tell Kal-El what has happened here. Tell him that he will see his son again, and will rue that day."

"Who are you?" Leia demanded. "Why are you doing this?"

"Even after death, I serve my master," the stranger said. "Relay my message." The stranger floated away, with Jor still in his arms, and then suddenly exploded into motion as he blew through the roof, leaving a third hole in the previously immaculate arches that topped the atrium.

* * *

"At least it's a red dwarf and not a giant," Mara said.

Kale's brows were furrowed together. "So I'm only slightly weakened with a throbbing headache," he muttered.

The radiation output of Nirauan Prime was negligible, indicative of a star that long ago exhausted its core of hydrogen. The only habitable planet was the second of three inner planets with orbits very close to the dim star.

They flew the _Jade's Fire_ well beyond the rim of known space for the planet their mysterious irritant directed them to. Mara once more sat at the controls, after a healing trance for much of their journey. Fortunately they were able to avoid most Vong patrols.

"So," Mara said as she directed her ship toward the planet in question, "any ideas on what we're going to do when we get there?"

"I say we go knock on the front door," Kale said.

Mara shook her head. "You take all the fun out of everything."

"So you'd rather sneak through some dark, dank caves in the hope of finding a hidden or secret entrance to whatever we find?"

Mara shrugged. "It would be something to do."

"No thank you," Kale said. "Caves are overrated."

They made orbit and began scanning the surface. After ten minutes their scanners identified a massive structure in the shape of a… "Is that a hand?"

"Subtle," Kale said. "Is it giving us the universal symbol for 'Go away'?"

"No, all fingers are extended," Mara said with a wink. "I'm reading some pretty heavy armaments, though. I get an odd feeling from it in the Force. Hostile, but not that dangerous."

"That describes pretty much everyone we know, nowadays," Kale said.

Mara heard a note of pain in his voice and studied her husband. "Is that pity I hear?"

"Regret," Kale said with a shrug. "Let's go."

They brought their ship skipping into the atmosphere and were almost immediately met by a pair of the strangest TIE fighters either of them had ever seen. Instead of the standard solar panels, each of the ships had a pair of flowing, petal-like wings reaching forward and terminating in four laser cannons. The only thing familiar were the typical TIE cockpit balls.

The ships fired off the _Fire's_ port side. Mara instinctively started to juke the ship, but slowed when Kale placed a hand on her arm and flipped the com. "Approaching fighters, this is the _Jade's Fire_. We are not hostile. We have come at the invitation of Baron Soontir Fel. We are awaiting landing instructions."

Mara stared at him. "Invitation? He dared us."

Kale shrugged. "I'd rather not have anyone shooting at my wife."

"I could leave those things behind in a heartbeat."

"Along with the crystals I need to try and save your life."

Their com crackled. "_Jade's Fire_," a cold voice said, "we are sending landing coordinates. Do not deviate from these coordinates or you will be fired up."

The signal ended. "Friendly bunch," Mara muttered.

Kale just sat back. "This doesn't feel like a trap," he said.

"Easy for you to say," she muttered. "They haven't made a trap yet you can't get out of."

The coordinates brought them to the very front of the odd structure, and Mara brought the ship down without a noticeable bump. The two sat staring at the shadowy building for a long time. "This is daytime, isn't it?" Mara asked.

It looked like twilight, but the red dwarf was in the center of the sky like a larger than average star. Kale shrugged. "Might as well get this over.'

The two stood and, holding hands, walked down the ramp together. The moment they stepped foot on the soil, the reinforced doors in front of them opened and half a battalion of storm troopers rushed out in two lines to surround them. Kale ignored them and Mara's curses as two men walked out. One wore an Imperial Admiral's uniform. The other wore a well-tailored civilian suit. It was the civilian that Kale and Mara both recognized as the man in the holographic message.

The two obvious leaders of the soldiers stopped five meters away. "You are a brave man, Kale Naberrie," Baron Soontir Fel said.

"Bravery implies that you could harm me," Kale said. The admiral shifted his feet nervously, though Fel did not. "But I did not come here as your enemy. I am not here as an agent of the New Republic. I am here as a husband seeking help for my wife. And so I ask you, Baron, do you, or do you not, have the crystals that were stolen from my fortress on Hoth?"

"They are here," Fel said unflinchingly. "Please come with us."

He and the admiral turned and started walking toward the gates, and Kale and Mara followed. "We can speak as we walk," Fel said. "This is Admiral Voss Parck. I am the Baron Soontir Fel."

"I was unaware the Empire maintained a presence this far into Wild Space," Mara said.

"We are an autonomous unit," Parck said. "We maintain some contact with the Empire, but we do not answer directly to Pellaeon or Daala."

"Are you aware that Bastion has fallen?" Mara asked.

Parck cleared his throat. "We are aware that you were both there with General Solo when it happened," the admiral said. "We were quite surprised that Grand Moff Daala allowed you access to the Imperial Archives."

"Not all of us," Fel said.

They traversed a series of large, darkly lit halls. In several cases, they saw humanoids with oddly tinted blue skin and startling red eyes. "You have Chiss in this base?" Mara asked suddenly.

"We do," was all Fel would say.

Eventually they arrived at an oversized chamber lined with shelves that held hundreds of holopads. Interspersed were sculptures, paintings, masks and artifacts from dozens of different cultures.

In the center of the room, dominating the space, stood a large workspace surrounded by 2- and 3-D monitors and data readouts. A single man sat attentively in the center of the circle of data, clad in a bright white Grand Admiral's uniform. His black hair was not too remarkable, but his blue skin took on a dark hue from the light of the monitors. His eyes, however, glowed a bright red regardless of the monitors.

He looked up at the newcomers without expression. After a moment, he stood and stepped down out of the control pads and walked forward until he stood a few feet away.

Kale heard his wife's breath catch in her throat. "Thrawn," she whispered incredulously. "Intelligence said you died at Coruscant."

"I did," the Chiss male said. "I foresaw that taking a fleet against any force with Mr. Naberrie in it could be hazardous, and insured that my death, should it happen, would not be permanent."

"A clone," Kale surmised.

"Indeed," Thrawn said. "Please, come."

The five of them walked out of the data center and into another room adorned with more works of art, as well as a comfortable quartet of couches. The room was better lit than the surface, but still dark for their eyes.

"What is this place?" Mara finally asked as they were seated. A protocol droid ambled in with a tray of drinks that neither she nor Kale touched. The other three men all took a glass from the tray.

"This is the Empire of the Hand," Thrawn said. "An organization I founded with Admiral Parck here shortly before the battle of Coruscant. That was when I had a personality scan and DNA samples taken. We already had Spaarti Cylinders, and so the three of us were prepared to die at Coruscant in order for our mission to live on."

"Your mission?" Kale asked.

"We knew the Yuuzhan Vong were coming," Thrawn said calmly. "As did the Emperor. He allowed me to take a force into Wild Space to create a buffer area if they should attack from here."

Admiral Parck cleared his throat. "The Emperor foresaw the danger, but not the exact nature of it. The Chiss had been fighting a race called the Vagaari for some time when I first met them, and these Vagaari were the proof of the encroaching attack. They were fleeing to stay ahead of the Vong."

"Why not reveal yourself to Admiral Pellaeon?" Kale asked.

"We were going to do that," Thrawn admitted, "until the Vong attacked. I admit that I personally failed to realize the scope of the incursion. This was a lack of intelligence. I did not anticipate simultaneous attacks on the Empire and Republic at the same time. The attack on your leadership was not entirely unexpected, but the actions of your new government were so dangerously incompetent that again, I failed to anticipate it."

"We've been out of touch," Kale said. "We knew Borsk Fey'lya was elected Chief of State."

"He promptly removed your only capable general from command and withdrew your containment forces back from the incursion," Thrawn said. "All our best estimates show there was one, and only one, opportunity for the New Republic to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong outright. That was to contain the initial incursion and then attack it with everything you had. By failing to do so, you have given the Vong a foothold."

"And the Empire?" Mara demanded.

"They are already mustering their forces for a counter-attack," Parck admitted. "But without coordination from the New Republic, it will fail."

"Is that why you lured us here?" Mara demanded. "For 'coordination' with the Republic."

"No," Thrawn said. "As far as I am concerned, the New Republic leadership has forfeited its right to lead this fight. No, I asked you here to recruit you. I want you to join the Empire of the Hand."

Kale realized his jaw was hanging open. "You're serious?"

Thrawn almost smiled. "Quite. And not just you, Master Naberrie. I want to recruit all the Jedi. And any forces from the New Republic that wish to actually defeat the Vong."

The clone reached behind the chair to an unseen table and retrieved a bundle of cloth. He set the cloth down on the table between them. "An act of goodwill. These are the crystals you seek. I verified that they contain crystalline compounds not found in this galaxy. You may take them regardless of whether you choose to join us or not."

Kale lifted one of the crystals and immediately knew these were authentic. Beside him, Mara coughed. Kale noticed her color was fading again. "Forgive me," she said, "but you are assuming a great deal. Yes, Thrawn had a reputation in the Empire as being a good tactician, but you are not Thrawn. You haven't proved yourself yet. It is difficult to rally behind the banner of a leader who has done nothing but talk."

"You are right, of course," Thrawn said. He stood. "Then let us say this—if I can liberate Bastion and the Empire from the Vong, will you consider my proposal?"

Mara opened her mouth, but said nothing and looked at Kale. Her cheeks had gone pale and he could feel her fading quickly in the Force. She was about to have another attack.

"We will consider it," Kale said. "If this war goes as badly as it has started, then it may be that we need your leadership."

"That is all I ask," Thrawn said. He looked at Mara. "I believe you need to return to Hoth as soon as possible, Master Naberrie. Your wife does not appear well."

"I've felt better," Mara admitted.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Manus Dei; Exodus5; Roosterman71; dajohu; Lu and The-Knight2000, thank you all for your feedback and comments.

Effective immediately, I will begin posting this story on a weekly basis, each Sunday night, until it is hopefully done. I greatly appreciate Jedi-2B who agreed to come back and Beta for me.

Exodus5--I imagine after this chapter you feel even worse for him. Karia is my romantic lead. However Jor is my tragic lead. A lot of folks suffer in this story, and he suffers as much as anyone.

Lu--Thank you very much for the counter argument.

In the LORS, everything was very Black and White, Cut and Dried, until some ambiguity with the Rebellions tactics at the end. But there was still a definite good side and bad side. While the Vong are definitely bad, this time I strove to give the motivations of the other characters a little more depth and ambiguity. I wanted them to question themselves and each other. Whether I'm successful is ultimately up to the reader. And I'm very glad to have you and Exodus reading so you can volley the ideas back and forth. The success of this fic in a real sense is in all of your hands.

Thank you again for reading. I hope you continue to do so, now on a weekly basis!


	20. The Price of Love

Author's Notes at the end.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty: The Price of Love**

Warmaster Tsavong Lah looked down at the strange creature before him with equal parts shock and disgust. The fact that the infidel stood upright before the Warmaster of the Yuuzhan Vong caused untold anger among the many warriors and priests lining the halls.

The creature ignored the warriors, as well as the Intendant, Nom Anor, who knelt behind him. The infidel simply stood and stared back at the Warmaster.

"You are a living insult to everything the Yuuzhan Vong believe in," Lah finally spat. "Yun-Yuuzhan raises his fist against you. Yet you stand without fear or respect. How can this be?"

"I am from a place even further away from this galaxy than your own origins," the man calling himself Reck Desh said. "I come from the planet Krypton, which spawned a race of gods easily as powerful as your own. And I have brought one of the last of their kind before you."

Behind them came two strong warriors carrying a third figure between them. The figure wore the robes of the hated _Jeedai_, but otherwise with his head hanging down he was not identifiable.

"He does not look like any god to me," Lah said with open contempt.

Behind Desh, Nom Anor looked up briefly for permission to speak. "Speak, Intendant," Lah commanded.

"Warmaster, this one is Jor-El Naberrie," Nom Anor said. "The son of Kale Naberrie. The two of them were responsible for the defeat of our ground forces at Dantooine." To illustrate his point, Anor lifted the lagging head to show a face still swollen from a terrible beating, but healing quickly.

"When he wakes," Desh said, "he will destroy everyone here. Nothing you have can stop him. Nothing except me."

After the embarrassment at Dantooine, Tsavong Lah watched the villip images of these creatures fighting. Though he did not allow himself to know fear, he did allow some trepidation on the thought of one of the hated Naberrie infidels loose in his worldship. "And what is it you want, Reck Desh?"

"I wish to destroy your enemies," Desh said. The warriors around them snarled. "I cannot defeat Kale Naberrie alone. But we may not have to. If we can make his own son an enemy, then we will remove him from the fight. You will gain through his absence, I will gain through his weakness."

"And what is it you need to do this, Reck Desh?" Lah demanded.

"I have studied your people. You have a caste known as Shapers. I need Shapers to aid me in remaking this young man. We shall turn him into a Yuuzhan Vong. We will make him one of you. And when he has embraced pain and learned the Truth you teach, he will attack his father and help you claim the galaxy your gods promised you."

"These are strong words," Tsavong Lah said. "Yet what proof do we have of your strong actions? How can we know it was you who felled the infidel's son?"

Desh shrugged. "Send your best warrior against me. Know they will die if you do."

Tsavong smiled grimly in appreciation as every one of his warriors stepped forward. This was how it should have been. He nodded toward Tserang of his own Domain, a huge warrior only slightly shorter than the Warmaster himself.

Tserang stepped forward with his amphistaff ready and growled his challenge.

Lah and the rest saw only a blur. The blur stilled and Reck Desh stood as before. However, Tserang's body was broken in two, his head between his ankles and his now limp amphistaff shoved through his spine.

"A worthy death," Tsavong Lah said. "We now have the truth of your words. We shall give you shapers and a damutek. You shall have slaves and Shamed Ones to do your bidding. Where shall you work?"

"Helska," Desh said. "The light of red suns is the only weakness of these beings. Remember that in your battles, should Kale or his own brat make themselves known."

Tsavong let the direct speech slide. The chance to destroy the heretic through his own brood was too much to resist. Surely the Supreme Overlord would agree.

* * *

_Jor-El Naberrie stands in a darkened room, looking down onto the slab that holds his mother._

_Mara's ankles and wrists are bound, her clothes ripped away, as Yuuzhan Vong monsters torture her in ways beyond imagining. _

_Jor tries to scream, but no sound emerges from his lips. He tries to move, but his muscles will not obey him. He stands completely silent and motionless as the most important woman in his life suffers a fate a thousand times worse than death._

"_She is not worthy," a voice hisses in the air around him. "You are not worthy. But you could be. The truth is inside you. Embrace your pain, and you will learn."_

_Inside, Jor-El Naberrie rages. He wants to yell his defiance at them, but again, he is somehow held in complete silence. Still, the rage there boils._

Karia screamed. The sound of her scream was followed immediately by a crash, then the hiss of a door. She forced her eyes open as Healer Cilghal rushed in. Master Leia and Han rushed in a moment later with all three Solo kids behind them.

Cilghal forced them all to remain at the foot of the bed as she placed a heavily webbed hand on Karia's forehead. "She is no longer in danger," the Jedi Healer said. She smiled down at Karia. "It is good to see you awake, young one."

Karia looked at the faces of her cousins. "Awake? How long was I asleep?"

"Asleep isn't the right term," Leia said as she walked to the other side of the bed and took Karia's hand. "You were in a trance so deep it might as well have been a coma. You've been unconscious for nearly two weeks."

"Two weeks?" She shook the shock off quickly. "Where is Jor-El? Where's my brother?" she said as she suddenly remembered her dream.

"Karia," Leia began. The tone in her voice and the pain in her eyes were all she needed to see.

"That thing took him, didn't it?" she said.

Leia nodded. "It flew out of the atmosphere faster than civilian control could track. We believe it boarded a ship outside the orbit of the second moon, but by the time we got there it was long gone. Can you sense him?"

"Only that he's in pain," Karia said. "They're torturing him. I don't know how, but he's hurting so much." She bent over sobbing inconsolably. Leia held her hand, and after a moment Anakin stepped around his father and siblings and sat on the edge of the bed with his arm around her shoulders.

"We'll get him back," the young Jedi said. "We'll get him back."

"Where's my dad?" Karia finally asked. "Why isn't he here?"

"That's a good question, Kid," Han muttered before Leia kicked his shin.

"Kale is deep in enemy space right now," the Jedi Master said. "Looking for a cure for your mom. Do you think you could reach him?"

Karia nodded. "But then the Vong would know where he is. Jor told me when dad called to him in the Force that the Vong yammosk could sense both of them. Dad could survive any attack, but I'm not sure about risking mom."

The youngest Naberrie took a deep breath and looked up at Anakin, then over to Leia and the rest. "What are we going to do?"

"Fight the best we can," Leia said.

Han snorted. "We've lost almost a dozen worlds just since we returned," Han muttered. "Not much fighting we can do."

"And one of our best fighters just died," Jaina added behind them.

Karia blanched. "Who?"

"Kyp Durron did not survive," Leia said softly. "He tried to help you and was killed."

Karia's cheeks flared red and her eyes grew moist.

"There's more," Leia said. "The attacker had a Kryptonite lightsaber. He used it on Jor."

The tears welled over the lashes of Karia's eyes. "I know he's alive," Karia said. "I know it."

Suddenly the blood drained from her cheeks and she bent over with a gasp. Anakin jerked his arm from her shoulders as if he were the one hurting her, but Leia took her clenched hand. "Karia, what is it?"

Karia sat up, stricken. With a voice made thick by grief, she whispered, "I can't feel him any more. Jor's gone."

* * *

"The spineray provoker is not having the same effect on him as our other Jedi prisoners," Master Shaper Mezhan Kwaad said thoughtfully. "Neither the Tsong nor Qah protocols are having the desired effect."

"We have not been able to map all his neural pathways, Master," Adept Nem Yin, her assistant, said.

Beside them, Reck Desh sneered. "Nor will you. The Kryptonian mind has nearly seven hundred times the number of neurons as an average humanoid in this galaxy. There are so many trillions of neural passages available that even your technology will never grasp them."

"You speak heresy," Master Kwaad said, though without heat. "Yun-Yuuzhan created all life."

"The Kryptonians were advanced before Yun-Yuuzhan even knew his own name," Desh said with a snort. "They were among the most ancient and powerful of all races in all the galaxies. If not for the genetic imprint keeping them on their home planet, they would have ruled us all by now. Immortal, ageless, and nearly invincible. But they have their weaknesses."

"If the Warmaster were to hear you, he would not be pleased," Kwaad said.

"He could do little," Desh said. "He cannot defeat the New Republic as long as Kale Naberrie is alive to fight him." He left the two shapers and stepped into the main chamber that held Jor-El.

The Kryptonian was held in the Embrace of Pain, a Vong device that produced unlimited levels of pain through nerve induction. Ordinarily, this would have had little to no impact on Jor-El. But under the constant weakening effects of the red sunlight from Helska prime pouring through the many windows, Jor-El's cellular structure weakened sufficiently to allow the puncturing of his skin.

Hence the spineray attached to his neck. It was the fifth such creature to make the attempt. After the week it took for Desh to get Jor-El to the Vong, they immediately sent him to Helska. Only after a week of exposure to the red sunlight was Jor-El's body sufficiently softened enough for one to get past the skin of his neck.

The son of Kal-El held his face in a rictus expression of agony. Between the hated red light, the nerve induction of the Embrace of Pain, and the spineray, he was experiencing a level of pain possibly no other of his kind had ever known.

Desh looked back at the two shapers as they spoke. They were comparing protocols and discussing both his words, and their own little heresies. Lah knew very well they would betray their own beliefs to accomplish the goal, just as both Desh and Lah knew both would likely be killed for their efforts. They were perfect for Desh's wishes.

He placed his hand on Jor-El's forehead. His fingers changed color and became longer and sharper—like the tentacles of a yammosk. He plunged them suddenly into the boy's head. The accompanying scream brought the attention of the shapers, but he did not care.

In the ancient language of Krypton, a language all humanoids across the galaxies could understand, he whispered, "Know this, son of Kal-El. I am the Brain Interactive Construct. Your father killed my master, and I will not rest until justice is served. You will be my justice. Your father and everyone you love will die by your own hand. You cannot stop this. It is only a matter of time."

Jor-El's eyes never opened. But he cried out again in a deafening mixture of pain and rage.

Desh retracted his fingers and smiled. "Just a matter of time," he said.

* * *

General Wedge Antilles wiped a swath of blood from his lip as his R3 unit continued the repairs of his rear shields.

The K-wing bomber was larger than previous bombers he'd flown, with more payload, but it flew like a pregnant nerf compared to his XJ. Still, it was better than the old Y-wings he occasionally had to fly during the Civil War. "K-wings form up for another run, Rogues with me," Wedge ordered.

The two squadrons of bombers returned to formation as the faster X-wings and A-wings darted around them trying to keep the skippers off. The bombers approached the enemy destroyer-analogue from opposite directions and opened fire simultaneously. This had the effect of pulling the enemy dovin basils in too many directions at once, and weakened the overall shielding. Shots started getting through. "Hard points away!" Wedge cried when he saw the enemy shielding drop by half.

Both squadrons launched proton torpedoes and concussion missiles, and the destroyer erupted under the fire.

"General, we're losing the _Torch_!" Major Forge cried. Wedge turned in horror and watched their heavy cruiser, the _Liberty Torch_, split in half under enemy fire. That left them with one Imperial-II class star destroyer and two frigates against nine enemy ships. Well, eight now.

"That's it," Antilles decided. "All ships retreat. _Retribution_, this is General Antilles. Pull back to Alpha Point."

"Acknowledged, General. What about the planet?"

Wedge looked out his window at the blue-green sphere that was Agamar. The Agamarans were fighting as best they could, but the New Republic only sent a task force of six ships to defend the planet against a fleet of twelve. They had three left, and the enemy had eight. More importantly, the enemy had reinforcements coming. Wedge's reinforcements were fighting boredom around Bothawui and Bilbringi.

This made the fourth world in four days. Morishim, Ord Biniir, Garqi, and now Agamar. The witches of Dathomir were going to be in for a nasty surprise if this kept up. In frustration, Wedge slammed both hands on his canopy windows, and then quickly shook it off.

"May the Force help them," Wedge said bitterly. "Because the New Republic won't."

* * *

"These terrible losses further illustrate our need," Senator Viqi Shesh said. "The Jedi have said they will help. How can they help when they are all on Coruscant? Our brave soldiers are fighting and dying trying to save this great Republic from the Yuuzhan Vong invaders, while the Jedi sit on their hands and say they won't help. How can any of you, as leaders of this Republic, allow this situation to continue? The Jedi Order has repeatedly defied our edicts to bring it under the direct authority of the Chief of State. If they will not be a part of the solution, then they are part of the problem. For this reason, I again call for a vote on Bill 24534-ATR4, the seizer of all Jedi assets on Coruscant under eminent domain, and the revocation of all special privileges for any Jedi personnel."

The vote was much closer this time, Viqi noted. Many more faces showed outrage at the Jedi's inaction. She struggled to hide her smile as the Chief of State wisely tabled the bill for now. In just a few weeks, after just a few more systems lost, Shesh would have her vote.

Nom Anor would be pleased.

* * *

Commander Danni Quee of the New Republic Intelligence Service, also known as Alpha Blue, stepped into the small room in the center of the Alpha Blue headquarters building on Coruscant. She carried a set of holopads containing her latest briefing.

Director Jan Ors lay on the bed in the center of the small room speaking to her husband, Jedi Master Kyle Katarn. Both looked up as she entered.

"Commander," Kyle said. "The uniform becomes you."

Danni shrugged at the tight fit across her shoulders. The decision to accept the commission was a difficult one. She never wanted to be in the military and frankly did not agree with most military policies. But after what happened not just to Jan, but to the elected leadership of the New Republic, she felt she no longer had a choice. At least she was serving in intelligence rather than in the military outright.

"Master Katarn," she said respectfully. "Director, you're looking better today."

"No bacta today," she said. "I'm starting to get the taste out of my mouth. Do you like my new arm?"

The new arm was almost indistinguishable from the old, except for a slight sheen to the skin that marked it as a new prosthetic. "They did a good job."

Jan smiled. "Indeed. What do we have?"

"The report on the attack on the temple, Director," Danni said. She tried very hard to keep her voice neutral. "We have surveillance footage that shows he was at the Senate when Chief of State A'kla was assassinated. Afterward, he was seen holding a sentient." Danni held the pad to Jan. "The sentient has been identified as a Fosh. They are exceedingly rare. That's why when a search of all public records went through, we quickly identified her as accompanying the assassin through the spaceport. They were met by Nom Anor. We believe the Temple attacker was there as well, but he was only watching. We have no audio, but it is safe to assume they were speaking in code or in their native language."

"So this stranger is working with the Vong?" Kyle asked.

"I'm not sure," Danni said. "Please note what happens just after the assassination."

The footage was blurry, since it was taken from a small corner of the viewing field of the larger senatorial security suite of monitors. Still, there was no mistaking the wisp of smoke that suddenly _poofed_ from the Fosh's head feathers, or the way her body went limp in the man's hand. A second later, he dropped her, still smoking, over the edge of the rotunda.

"If the Kryptonian is working with the Vong, why would he kill a Vong agent?" Kyle asked.

"We don't know," Danni admitted. "From what Master Solo said, he seemed more interested in hurting Kale Naberrie through his kids than in aiding the Vong's war effort. One more thing, Director. The few times this being has made public transactions, he has gone by the name of Reck Desh. General Solo knew Desh in person and said the Kryptonian is not Desh. We've confirmed he assumed Desh's identity. The real Desh is missing."

The three of them remained in place for a long second, before Danni cleared her throat and handed over the second holopad.

"This is the latest tactical report on the war. It doesn't look good. The Vong have swept through the systems bordering Imperial space. They've just taken Dathomir and have engaged New Republic forces at Bandomeer and Yavin. Because of the depleted fleet strength, in all likelihood both planets have fallen since this report. Yavin had almost no defense at all since it is not populated. The enemy has yet to try and tackle any heavily defended targets or Core Worlds, but then again they don't need to. We have confirmed reports of planets surrendering to the Vong because the New Republic will not help them. I understand those planets that surrender have been given relative leniency. Agents say a pattern has developed on worlds that believe they are about to be attacked."

"What's that?" Jan asked.

"The population starts to destroy their droids. The Vong detest mechanical things."

Jan reviewed the text on the holopad with narrowed eyes. "It says here that over fifty New Republic worlds have shown signs of destroying their droids."

"Yes, Director," Danni said.

"And no word from Kale?" Kyle finally asked.

"We know he went to Vjun after the fall of Bastion," Danni said. "After that, we lost him. After what happened to Jor…I have to believe if he knew what was happening he would return."

Both Kyle and Jan nodded. "I think it's time we started exploring all options," Jan finally said.

Kyle shook his head. "We've discussed this, Jan. It's playing with fire."

"I don't mind getting burned if it burns the enemy worse," Jan said resolutely. She turned to Danni. "Please contact Dr. Joi Eicroth and tell her to begin work on her project."

Danni nodded. She was becoming used to not know what all her messages meant.

* * *

Mara lay perfectly still. Kale sat on the floor beside her, holding her hand. The healing trance was so deep he could barely feel her pulse. Her presence in the Force was a ghost; a whisper.

He did not speak to her. Rather, he simply held her hand while the ship's autopilot carried them through hyperspace at the greatest possible speed the ship could reach. He could hear the tortured hum of their hyperdrive motivator and knew Mara would have words over how hard he pushed them, but he did not care.

He was starting to lose her.

The thought of not having her numbed him. Oh, he knew that someday it would happen. Mara approaching forty-five was as beautiful as Mara at twenty-three. More so. Every line around her mouth he could attach to a smile or a happy memory. Every curve of her body he knew by memory of touch. She was still perfect for him—but she did age. Though as beautiful as ever, her waist had thickened with childbirth, even if only fractionally. Her hair sometimes had a silver tinge to it as the red faded gradually. She would have the most beautiful silver hair in time, if she ever let it go that far.

He, however, did not look a day over thirty. If even that much. One poor young clerk even mistook Kale for Mara's son, though he never made the mistake a second time. Mara's sharp tongue made sure of that.

But he always assumed it would be many years down the road. Humans could easily make a century in good physical health. He…

Kale stopped when he realized the direction his mind was going. "Force help me," he whispered.

"You knew you would face this one day," a familiar voice said. Kale looked over his shoulder and without surprise saw Obi-Wan standing before him. The Jedi Master glimmered with the blue light of the Force.

"I don't know what I will do if I lose her," Kale admitted in a thick voice.

"You will go on, of course," Ben said, but not unkindly. "Your love for her gives you a link to the beings of this galaxy. But never forget that you are not of this galaxy. Any attachments you form here will be, at best, fleeting."

"I won't let her go," Kale said vehemently.

"As powerful as you are, son," Ben said, "that one power is beyond even you."

Kale felt his eyes stinging. "Are you telling me she is going to die?"

"Yes, Kale. Perhaps not now. Perhaps not for another sixty years. But she will die. And you will not. And when that day comes, you will be faced with a terrible choice. Will you allow your grief to consume you and turn you into a monster; will you destroy yourself; or will you go on with your life as best you can?"

"You're asking me this right now?" Kale said with a flash of rage. "Over my wife's sickbed? Are you insane?"

"We are afraid," Obi-Wan admitted. "The Force itself fears you, Kale. The damage you could do is unspeakable should you allow your dark emotions to gain the upper hand. You will realize this all too soon. I grieve for you, my friend. I pray to the Force that you are able to heal her and that you have many more years together. But I also fear what you will do, should you ever lose her."

"Go away," Kale growled.

"Son…"

"Go away," Kale repeated. He pushed with the Force, and the shimmering image of Obi-Wan Kenobi faded from view. He took Mara's hand and held it to his lips. "I'm not going to lose you. Not ever."

He heard a beeping from the cockpit and reluctantly let Mara's hand fall back to her side as he moved to the front of the ship. He saw they were arriving on the edge of the system and dropped out of hyperspace.

The angle of approach was oblique since he did not trust himself to get through the asteroid belt that surrounded the inner planets of the Hoth system without damaging his wife's ship. Instead, he arrived at Hoth near the magnetic north polar region. It took a detailed scan of the surface to make out the change from snow and ice to crystal. The fortress was still there.

He allowed the ship's automated systems to handle as much of the approach as possible, until they were in the turbulent atmosphere. He flew carefully and slowly over the frozen wastes of the dead planet. He found the bright glare of the sun off the snow and ice comforting. Unlike the rest of the Rebel Alliance, Kale actually enjoyed their brief stay on Hoth.

The landing column just outside the fortress was still here. Though the snow was piled a little higher than when he left this place twenty-three years ago, otherwise the Fortress was just as he left it.

He went to the back and carefully wrapped Mara in several thermal blankets. Once he gathered the crystals, he lifted his wife in his arms and left the ship.

Outside the wind howled fiercely, but with nothing more than a few cirrus clouds in the sky the air was otherwise bitingly cold and clear. Kale indulged in a moment to enjoy the vast white plains that stretched out before the Fortress before he lifted off the pad and flew his wife inside.

The interior of the Fortress contained its own special, cold light. He carried his wife unerringly through the maze of diagonal columns until he arrived at the main platform. It held the control panel for the whole fortress, as well as living space. It was in essence a home.

Kale placed Mara on the Kryptonian equivalent of a biobed and walked across the platform until he reached the panel. He carefully removed the crystals, and one by one inserted them into the panel. As he did so, the portions of the panel lit up until the whole surface was alight with bright white color.

"My son, you have returned to me," a deep voice said. The sound reverberated through the Fortress. "It has been many years."

"Yes, Father," Kale said. "Much has happened. A new enemy has invaded the galaxy. Thousands of worlds are in danger. Trillions of lives. This enemy poisoned my wife. I've brought her here to be healed."

"Wife?" The single word carried waves of incredulity, shock and even outrage. "How can you have a wife in this galaxy, my son? They are not as you are."

"She is a Jedi," Kale said. "She is my wife, and the mother of my children."

"Children, you say?" Now more shock. "How is it you could have children with a lesser being?"

"Lesser?" Kale said, growing numb. "She is a Jedi, Father. Not lesser. We conceived two children with the help of the Force. I am a Jedi, now, as well."

"And these children are human?"

"They are not," Kale said. "The Kryptonian genome was dominant."

The silence that followed was stunning. When at last the senior Jor-El spoke, his voice thundered through the Fortress. "You must bring these children to me, my Son. Such a thing is unheard of, in all the history of our race. Never would I or your mother have condoned a marriage between two beings so intrinsically unequal. If she is ill, then let her die so that this terrible deed may be undone. I cannot help you. I will not."

Kale stood stricken as he stared up at the roof of his fortress. "Will not?" he said. "WILL NOT!" The whisper became a shattering roar. "You would let my wife die because of some damned prejudice! She killed Ursa! She helped me defeat the Emperor! She is the mother of your own grandchildren, and you dare tell me you will not help me!"

Kale backed away, shaking in rage. "Then to hell with you!" he screamed. "To hell with Krypton!"

"My son," Jor-El began, but Kale wasn't listening. He took Mara in his arms, and flew out of the Fortress toward her ship. He placed her gently on her bed, then stepped back out into the cold.

The scream of rage and despair ripped past the wind. Nearby ice sheets cracked under the harmonics of Kale's outrage. When he had no more breath to cry, he collapsed to the cold, snowy surface of the column.

"I won't lose her," he whispered. "I can't lose her. She's the best part of me."

He didn't know exactly when he realized he wasn't alone. Just that one moment he was alone, and the next an angel knelt in the snow before him. He looked up, and realized she could only have been an angel. She glowed white, not like a Force ghost at all. She wore a shimmering white gown and had long tresses of blonde hair that hung around a stunningly beautiful oval face. Two eyes the color of frozen cobalt stared at him set over a perfectly formed nose and ruby lips pulled into a sad, gentle smile.

"You love her so very much, my son?" the angel asked.

"Mother?" He reached out a hand, but at the edge of her cheek he felt only cold air, and realized it was a projection from the fortress. "You're not really here."

"I am in every way that counts," she whispered. "My love for you is no less. I feel for you, my son. I can see the bond in you with this human woman. The years you have spent with her. Your father and I lived many hundreds of happy years together before we had you. It was why I stayed with him at the end, even though my heart cried out to go with you."

Kale's tears froze as they fell down his cheek. "I would die for her, mother," Kale whispered. "I would take a Kryptonite lightsaber to my own neck, if it meant even one day with her. Please, please don't let her die. I could never forgive either of you if you did that."

A shimmering finger traced the frozen path of his tears down his cheeks. There was no touch, and yet in his imagination he could feel it. A mother's touch to comfort a son's pain.

"The healing will not be easy," Lara said. "It will take time, and it will take of you as well. You must give wholly of yourself if you are to heal her. It will cause you great pain, my son. Are you sure you wish to do this?"

"Mara once told me she would do anything for me," Kale said. "How could I do any less for her?"

Lara nodded. "Then gather your wife to you, my son, and enter your home."

* * *

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**Author's Responses**

I'd like to thank wawaboy2, whateveritis12; DaveInACave; Dajohu; The-Knight2000; Themightytom; Exodus5; Roosterman71; Blackdex and Manus Dei for their reviews and comments. I really appreciate it, folks.

Now for any questions and answers:

Q: I've been following this series religiously but its getting hard to swallow...

A: I figured killing Kyp would get some reaction. A Jedi was going to die. It was going to happen very quickly almost as an aside. I wanted to point out that compared to the intruder, who fought and defeated two Kryptonians (even if they were only teens), did not even consider the Jedi a sufficient threat to take seriously. It came down to a toss up between Corran and Kyp. Kyp lost. As for the Jedi doing more--I admit that I am going mostly from movie sources for Superman. Short of Kryptonite, nothing can truly weaken him in the movies. This story was actually spawned by Superman Returns with a little Smallville thrown in early. I didn't intend to turn Jor and Karia into wimps. If they tried to truly fight their dad, the same would have happened. They're powerful, but they are still young.

Sorry the section didn't work for you.

That was really it. There were a few other points but I think this chapter resolved them. Anyway, again I appreciate everyone reading and reviewing. Thanks, and have a good night.


	21. Happy Life Day

Author's Notes at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One: Happy Lifeday**

Karia Naberrie celebrated her fifteenth lifeday on Kalarba by throwing a Vong artillery beast onto a group of Chazrack while a joint task force of Jedi in SELCORE armbands and New Republic soldiers tried to buy time to finish the evacuation. Behind her, the air shook with the thrusters of a transport ship, while overhead the once beautiful blue sky took on a reddish hue.

Master Solo's decision to muster the Jedi Order in support of the Senate Select Committee for Refugees proved to be something of a political master stroke. Leia announced the partnership on a Holonet broadcast with some powerful rhetoric. "We know from history what happens when an executive officer attempts to turn the Jedi into an army," she said pointedly. "The Jedi Order is dedicated to peace and the preservation of life. There can be no higher purpose than for us to aid Senator and Chairman Cal Omas in his efforts to make SELCORE a meaningful organization."

And so the Jedi finally deployed across the warzone, aiding the New Republic and the SELCORE members in the evacuation and relocation of billions of refugees. Bleeding into the second year of the war, that high calling found Karia Naberrie, on her birthday, in the middle of a battle on a dying planet.

"It's coming 'round again," Master Horn warned Karia and the rest of the New Republic forces.

It came over the horizon as a red eye, growing larger and larger like some mythical god about to dispense a terrible justice. It was Hosk station, a converted moon, and it was falling as surely as the moon over Sernpidal did.

"Intelligence gives it one more full rotation," Corran called after carefully beheading a pair of Chazrach. This last blow bought them a moment of time. Below, the Vong forces began their steady retreat. They landed solely for the acquisition of slaves, only to discover the population was well defended by SELCORE forces.

"We need to find the dovin basil and destroy it," Karia said.

"We've already found it," Corran said. "Too late. The moon's gravity has been too destabilized."

"We are going to have time to evacuate everyone?"

"No," Corran said with absolute certainty.

"If Dad were here, we could slow the moon down," she whispered.

"You wouldn't want to slow it down," Corran said. "You would want to speed it up. But your dad isn't here, and we are. It's time to go, Karia."

The atmospheric shockwave of the station's passage swept over them. Corran braced himself for the massive wind. Karia simply stood as her red hair whipped about her face. "You're always telling me I'll never know what I'm capable of unless I try," she said when the worst of the shockwave passed.

"I've also told you that right now you are our greatest asset. Leia would literally kill me if I allowed you to risk yourself unnecessarily."

Karia waved at the panicked, terrified humans crowding to get on the transports. "That makes it necessary, Master. I have to at least try."

Corran also looked back at the desperate crowds, and then finally nodded. "All right, Karia. Give it a try. But for Force's sake, don't get yourself killed."

She grinned, and then shot off into the air faster than the Jedi Master could follow. The past few months had seen a change in the young padawan. She used the full scope of her powers much more openly now, and seemed more confident in herself.

In the air, Karia let the burning wind keep the hair out of her eyes as she flew after the moon. Many times she had to duck her head against the fiery winds caused by the moon's passage through the exosphere of the planet. Below she could see the waters of the planet's main ocean swell with its passage. If the main evacuation site had not been well inland, it would have been flooded a dozen times over by tsunamis. Instead it only had to deal with atmospheric turbulence and wracking earthquakes.

Finally, she punched through the worst of the turbulence and found herself in the draft of the moon itself. The structures that covered the station were burned away through combat or the skimming off Kalarba's atmosphere. She moved closer and closer, until finally she found a patch of rocky surface to place her hands.

Karia was a very smart teenager. She studied enough gravimetrics to know that if she pushed too hard, the moon would simply crack in half. In fact, it was likely the moon would shatter before it actually made contact with Kalarba because of the incredible tidal forces. But she wasn't looking to restore the system to what it was. She was looking to buy an hour's time.

Karia began to push. Often times Corran asked her to explain how she was able to lift such heavy objects while continuing to fly. This appeared to violate basic laws of physics. Her best explanation was that it was an act of Will. She took the counter-acting force within her body, just as she pushed the acting force out of her body. The forces involved in an attempt to speed up a moon, even fractionally, was like nothing she ever attempted to do before.

Her ribs began to ache and her head throbbed, but still she pushed with everything she had. The world below and the fire around dimmed down. The only thing she became aware of was the rock in front of her.

Even that began to dim, and then black out. Karia began tumbling loosely behind the moon without even being aware of it. It wasn't until the fiery turbulence hit her that she woke. At first she had no recollection of where she was. She was just starting to get her bearings when she hit the surface.

* * *

Anakin Solo wore the SELCORE armband over his Jedi robes with pride. It felt good to be helping. Although only fifteen, as a Padawan and a skilled pilot, no one questioned his contributions. His Master, Drun Cairnwick, often pointed out to his more experienced SELCORE and NRDF pilots that Anakin, like his sister, piloted better than most veterans.

And so, with Cairnwick nearby, Anakin served as a SELCORE transport pilot. This occasionally meant he and his Master fought on the front lines, since their ship was usually the last out with the actual defenders on board. For this reason, Anakin was on Kalarba when he saw a black object with a red top streak into the burning sky.

He and the rest of the SELCORE relief team watched in awe as the moon somehow continued a full rotation without crashing and in fact even seem to elevate a little, and Anakin sensed through the Force and saw as that black, red-topped object began tumbling uncontrollably through the sky.

He saw Master Horn running, and without a word to Cairnwick, he ran too. The object continued to fall just on the other side of the landing fields. The extra time purchased by the moon's additional rotation allowed the remaining civilians to evacuate.

Anakin was to the edge of the platform when he saw Karia hit the ground with the force of a concussion missile. The resulting crater was easily ten meters wide.

"Anakin!" Corran called, but Anakin was already on his way. Although Corran Horn was fast, he was not fifteen. Anakin easily outpaced him by an increasing distance, until without thought he reached the edge of the crater and jumped in to land at Karia's side.

The black armor she wore was burned and charred in many places, revealing her left foreleg and both her arms. Most of the shoulder braces were gone as well, leaving only the porcelain skin below. She was blinking and her lips were parted in an expression of shock.

"Karia!" Anakin cried.

"Owwie," she whispered.

Anakin stared. "Owwie?"

"It hurt," she explained.

"But 'owwie'?"

He cradled her head in his arm a moment before she sat up. "Anakin Solo," she said breathlessly, "are you teasing me? After what I just did?"

Anakin smiled at her, then before either one of them realized what was happening, leaned forward and kissed her squarely on the lips. When he reared back, she looked as if he had just given her a Kryptonian slap. "That was the most incredible thing I have ever seen," he told her. "You are the most incredible person I've ever seen. I just can't believe you said 'owwie.'"

"You nerf herder!" she said. She pushed him back off his knee just as Corran arrived.

"Karia!"

"Did it work?" she asked.

"It did. Intelligence said you bought us two more orbits. But we need to get out of here, now. Come on, both of you!"

He turned to go, and the two padawans stood. As they started climbing out of the crater, Karia looked at Corran's back a moment before she caught Anakin's arm. "You kissed me," she hissed.

Anakin suddenly blushed. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that."

"You're sorry you kissed me?"

He blinked and stammered. "I mean, I'm sorry if it bothered you. I didn't mean to…I mean, well, it's just you're so pretty, and I thought you were hurt again and I…"

His lips continued to move until hers were firmly planted on them, finally cutting off the stream of gibberish. Heat bloomed through both of them, until finally they parted. They stood there staring at each other for the longest time, not sure what to say, when Corran was there.

"Do I need to kiss you both to get you moving?" the Jedi Master roared. Overhead, the moon approached again, even closer than before Karia worked on it. The shockwave was tremendous. The ground bucked under their feet, and without thinking Karia grabbed each of their hands and lifted them off the turbulent ground.

"Get us to the transport!" Corran yelled.

"Okay!" She sped forward while holding both Anakin and Corran, and in moments they reached the last transport. The whole ship had toppled onto its side because of the turbulence. Stunned Jedi and NRDF soldiers were attempting to right it when they arrived.

With a smile and a wave at the obviously relieved men, Karia gently righted the hundred-meter-long transport. Anakin was already inside heading toward the cockpit. Corran stood by the now righted ramp as the last defenders boarded. As Karia came to him, he took her arm. "Karia, do you know what you're doing?"

She giggled then, and for a moment she was just a fifteen-year-old girl and not the daughter of Kale Naberrie. "I have no idea," she said happily.

"Well, Happy Life Day," Corran said as he hugged her, and the two ran into the transport. It was already flying before the ramp even fully retracted. Karia ran to the cockpit where Master Cairnwick sat with a New Republic navigator while fifteen-year-old Anakin Solo deftly maneuvered the transport through the roiling atmospheric turbulence.

The New Republic taskforce in orbit was already starting its retreat from the superior Vong attackers, but provided sufficient cover for their escape. In the monitors, they all watched as Hosk Station finally struck a glancing blow to Kalarba. The entire western super-ocean evaporated under the glancing blow.

Hosk bounced off for half an orbit leaving a blackened scar on the face of the planet and a red ring of fire as the atmosphere ignited, and then came round again for a more definite impact. The moon split under the terrifying tidal forces, and like that, Kalarba died.

"Happy lifeday to me," Karia whispered under her breath.

"You think that was bad," Corran muttered, "just wait until Leia hears you've been sucking her baby boy's face."

"I bet twenty credits she's fine with it," Master Cairnwick said. He smiled over at Karia. "What mother wouldn't want her son to have such a beautiful wife."

"Wife?" both Anakin and Karia said with sudden alarm.

"It is only proper," Corran said after a moment's consideration. "And just think of the beautiful children these two would have."

"Corran!" Karia cried in dismay. "We're only fifteen!"

"Exactly our point, Padawan," Cairnwick said. He looked from Anakin to Karia. "You're both fighting a terrible war, and it may make you feel older than you are. But remember that, experience aside, powers and abilities aside, you are both still very, very young."

Anakin looked down at the control stick. "Well, now I am sorry I kissed you," he muttered.

With a defiant look at both Jedi Masters, Karia leaned forward and kissed Anakin on the cheek. "I'm not," she said. As the two older Jedi raised eyebrows and Anakin flushed beat red, she said, "After all, it is my life day."

* * *

Two months later, a creature once known as Jor-El Naberrie celebrated his life day by slashing a scintillating green lightsaber across his forearms, and across his forehead. He grimaced in anticipation of the pain, and sighed as the Kryptonite scarred his otherwise immaculate skin. He could not scar himself like his masters, but he could at least show them his loyalty and dedication.

The Warmaster arrived then. The creature fell to his knees before the great Tsavong Lah. The Warmaster stood observing the strange creature. "What is your name?"

"This one is called Qahsel, Honored One," he said.

Lah turned to the infidel named Desh, then to Kwaad. "He has been shaped, then?"

"After a fashion," Kwaad said. "He believes himself to be one of us. We have shown him the lies of his past. But he will never be truly shaped. Just twisted to our purpose."

"It is enough," Desh said.

"Stand, Qahsel," Lah said.

Qahsel stood, but kept his eyes down.

"I give you a chance to prove your worthiness to the gods," Lah said. "It is a great opportunity for one such as yourself. Now, you are as a Shamed One. Prove your worth, and I shall name you a Warrior and claim you for Domain Lah."

Qahsel snapped a cross-armed salute. "I shall prove myself worthy to you, Warmaster."

"Tell me how you shaped him," the Warmaster demanded of Mezhan Kwaad. "Which protocols did you use?"

"We used variants of all of them," Kwaad said. "Desh worked on him as well."

"You violated the protocols?"

"Honored Warmaster," Kwaad said, "surely you knew we would have to in order to shape a creature such as that."

"So you admit your heresy," Lah said with a satisfied smile that looked monstrous on his scarred face. "Domain Kwaad has been unsatisfactory for some time. I know what you did to Vua Rapuung. He has paid the price for his arrogance in flouting the gods. You, however, have not. Not yet. Qahsel!"

"Yes, Great One?"

"Kill Mezhan Kwaad."

"Gladly, Warmaster," Qahsel said.

Mezhan Kwaad had only a moment to show her surprise before Qahsel's fist shattered her skull with greater force than a point-blank blast bug. The master shaper's body flipped backward before flopping to the floor, shattered-face down. Beside her, Adept Nen Yim fell to her knees and bowed her head. "My life is yours as well, Warmaster," she said quickly.

"As it should be," Lah growled. "I task you to be Qahsel's keeper. His servant. His slave. You are to do all he asks. You are his to please, his to kill. If he fails to prove himself worthy, you will die with him. If he is worthy, then your life shall continue. I name you adept no longer. You shall reclaim a new hand, and live to serve Qahsel. If you serve him well with anything he desires, and bring glory to the Yuuzhan Vong, you may be restored. Do you understand?"

Yim looked up into the Warmaster's scarred, sneering face. She realized that, just as he knew of Mezhan Kwaad and Vua Rapuung, he knew of her Yakun Kwaad. She was a shaper no more. Now, she was nothing more than a breeder ordered to capture the seed of the most powerful creature she had ever known.

"I understand, Warmaster," she said with a bow to hide her shudders.

* * *

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**Author's Responses**

Well, as always, I'd like to thank dajohu; wahteveritis12; The-Knight2000; Barricade; Lu; RJ; sexyninjalady; Exodus 5, for your reviews and comments. Thank you all for reading.

Now, for questions and answers:

Q: One other thing, in canon, Ursai & Zod had a son that the Kents adopted as Christopher Kent. Would we happen to see something like him pop up later on down the road?

A: Nope. Interesting idea, but truth is I didn't even know that ever happened. I will admit that I don't really follow the comics, which is why the story leans so much on Smallville/movies.

Q:till I see a problem here. If there was that genetic imprint then how did Pal-Awa get out of Krytpon (or was it Krypton's moon? I can't remember but I suppose that the same principle stands)? Kale/Clark/Kal-El could do it because Jor-El found that defect in the kryptonian genotype and corrected that flaw so that his son cold take "Krypton to the stars", before the doom of the planet was discovered.

A: The genetic imprint was, at least for the purpose of the story, an instinctual desire to stay on Krypton. However, like all species there will always been the one-off outsider, otherwise how could Krypton have gathered so much information about the twenty-eight known galaxies? Pal-awa, which in cannon was an early Force user (according to the comics and novels, I believe) was simply an explorer who allowed his personal power to overcome his ethics. Obviously it backfired on him. Still, a very good question. It made me have to think about it even more than when I actually wrote that section.

Q:If you introduced this, will you introduce the Eradicator? The Kryptonian Death Chant? Kale fling into a yellow sun (just kidding with this last one ^_-)?

A: No. In truth, I arrived at the genetic imprint theory on my own. It doesn't surprise me that it was also used in the Superman story line since, if the Kryptonians were all so power, you'd think they would have spread out a more. However, as I said above, I haven't really followed the comic books so I just don't know a lot of that stuff.

Q: Kale was connected to the force in the first chapter and Ben cloaked him like he did with Luke to hide him from the Emperor mind/force probe.

A: That is a good point about Kale and the Force. In LRS: The Empire's Revenge, Kale had to go to the Valley of the Jedi to become joined with the Force. What I should have explained before was that in the GFFA, the Force had a symbiotic relationship to all living things. It flowed within the Jedi. It did not flow with Kale. When he grasped the Force as a young man, he did so as an outsider imposing his Kryptonian will. That's why he could never be a Jedi until after he went to the valley. The fact he glowed in the Force was because he was outside of it. Not like the Vong, who were rejected form it, but as a true alien to the Force, with power that lit him up like a beacon.

Q: According to cannon, at around that age, he is immune to kryptonite. And as far as his children in the various comics/movie, while they have some of his powers, they don't have all, which makes sense as he is pure kryptonian and even stronger than a normal krytonian would be due to his family. I don't mind Jor and Karia having almost all his strength POTENTIALLY, but it should not equal his own potential.

A: I am not a geneticist, but from what I understand of true genecits (comic book stories aside), you either have a trait or you don't. Genetic traits are not degraded or weakened by the introduction of new genes. If a trait becomes dominant, then that trait is what you are. So, when I said that the Kryptonian genome was dominante for Jor and Karia, what I am saying is that they are, for all intents and purposes, fully Kryptonian. I know this may not jive with canon, but it was based on my (admittedly weak) understanding of genetics. That said, Jor and Karia are still children. They are no more powerful than kale was at that age. Kale is MUCH, MUCH more powerful now, and in a fight could easily defeat both his children if necessary. That's not even touching on his superior Jedi abilities.

Q: Why is Kale such a whinny brat?

A: You know what? Kale even irritated me in the last chapter, and I wrote it. Truth is, Kale has been essentially wallowing in luxury for the last quarter of a century. He never left Naboo. Didn't have to fight, while the rest of the galaxy tore itself apart in civil war. Yes, he had reasons. And they were good reasons. But he has not lived the same life of constant challenge that our Superman has. As a result, his character has flagged a bit. Although I'm willing to say that with his Jedi abilities he could probably beat Superman in a fight, at the same time he would also be willing to quit before Superman ever would.

Well, thank you all again for the reviews and comments. I had some really good questions and I hope I answered them. 'Til next time, have a good week!


	22. Blood Will Tell

Author's Notes at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Blood Will Tell**

The Battle of Gyndine was the first major defensive action on the part of the New Republic since the onset of the war. The reason, of course, was the Kuat shipyards that orbited the moderately developed world.

The New Republic and the Gyndine planetary defense force, between both of them, fielded almost sixty capital ships and close to a thousand fighters. Elements of the Second Fleet made up the New Republic taskforce, and when the first Yuuzhan Vong ships arrived, an additional forty ships, also from the Second Fleet, were diverted from Corellia to aid in the attack.

Admiral Jid'yda hissed between his sharp fangs as the enemy approached. A powerfully built Barabel, Jid'yda commanded as much through fear as respect. "Finally, we stand." He hit the fleet-wide com system and raised his voice. "Here we stand!" he cried. "No more running! Today, we fight and show these barbarians what the New Republic is really made of!"

His crew roared their approval just as a Vong worldship and eighty-five capital ships followed the first five to arrive.

Jid'yda hissed again. "Here we stand," he said one more time, quietly.

On the surface for the planet, Jaina, Jacen and Master Solo herself all helped supervise the emergency evacuation of Gyndine's civilian population. Private shuttles, yachts and transports were requisitioned by SELCORE and NRDF personnel to augment the military transports already spread around the capital city of Yractos.

All the outlaying cities and towns were already being evacuated to the city. The planetary shields held as the first barrage struck, but Leia knew from hard experience that they would not last.

Jacen stood beside her. "They brought a worldship," he said softly. Behind them, the procession of civilians onto the first transports was relatively calm. That would change once the shields failed and ground troops began to land.

Nearby, another ground transport sped by loaded down with Gyndine defense personnel and super battle droids that were little different than those used in the Clone Wars nearly half a century ago. They discovered that Battle Droids angered the Yuuzhan Vong a great deal, something that Leia and Han's old friend Lando Calrissian found very interesting.

"I'll tell you later," was the only thing Lando would say when they asked him about it.

Nearby, they could see Han speaking to General Harskor, the man in charge of Gyndine's ground defense forces. They were not arguing. Rather, Han was explaining something and the Gyndine general was listening attentively.

"I guess being the former Supreme Commander of the New Republic gives a person a certain amount of clout," Jacen noted.

Leia smiled when she heard pride in her son's voice. "That and a lifetime of experience."

The sky overhead turned suddenly orange-red as the worldship began to assault the planetary shields. "Alert all pilots to get ready to lift off only once they have reached maximum capacity," Leia said.

Jacen nodded and spoke into his wrist com. Jaina chose that moment to join them on the edge of the main boarding platform. "My fighter's ready," she said. "The other pilots are ready too. Do you want us to do strictly escort, or help hold off the attackers?"

"Buy us time," Leia said. "Our take off vector should be well away from the main theater." Just then, the first node of the planetary shield system blew with a spectacular explosion on the edge of the city. The rest of the nodes followed in a cascade as the planetary shields failed. Immediately massive balls of plasma began falling across the sprawling city. Sparkling towers shattered like glass and came tumbling ponderously down. Immediately they saw drop ships searing through the atmosphere.

After the first few shots got through, the secondary city shields went up. This was enough to stop the barrage, but would not stop ground forces. Hence the drop ships.

At the general's table on the edge of the landing platform, Han said a few more words with Harskor nodding, and then let the general go. "We're going to do all we can," Han said as he joined them. "We have a pretty good idea which route the enemy is going to take. We don't have any Naberries here, but a few seismic mines are going to go a long way."

"You do love those things, don't you, dad?" Jaina said.

"They make a very pretty boom," Han confirmed. He leaned over and kissed Leia, shook Jacen's hand, then turned to Jaina. "Well, Sweetums, you ready to go?"

"Any time, Old Man," she said. The two made their way back to their ships—Jaina to a T-65XJ X-wing on permanent loan to the Jedi Order via SELCORE, and Han to the _Falcon_. Padawan Lowbacca quickly joined him to serve as co-pilot and weapons officer. All weapons were slaved to the cockpit to reduce the amount of personnel needed. Having Han as a pilot and a Jedi on the weapons made the _Falcon_ a truly effective fighting machine.

As she watched her husband and daughter jog toward the main landing platforms, Leia felt a strange tug in her chest. She lifted her chin and dipped into the flow of the Force. Beside her, she sensed her son doing the same thing.

"I feel it too," Jacen said. Of all her children, Jacen was always the most sensitive to her moods. She realized with an odd mixture of both pride and chagrin that her son had a stronger connection to the Force than even she did.

"Something is happening," Leia whispered.

Nearby, the _Falcon_ lifted off with Jaina's X-wing nearby. The sleek fighter nearly trembled with power and lethality. In the hands of one of the best pilots in the whole of the Republic, it was devastatingly effective.

That's why Leia did not immediately understand what it meant for the blur to slice through the port-side quad engines. Her heart stopped even as her mind tried to comprehend the explosion that sent the X-wing tumbling side-ways on its faltering repulsor coils.

"Jacen?" Leia asked, unable to voice the suddenly cold shock running through her soul.

Beside her, Jacen crumpled to his knees with a gasp of pain. "She's alive, but badly hurt!" Jacen said of his twin.

Leia's com immediately started beeping. Han's voice came blaring through. "What in the seven hells of Corellia was that?" he demanded.

"That was our daughter's fighter," Leia managed to whisper through her own shock.

It was Jacen tugging on her arm that pulled her from her daze. The two of them started running. He surged out in front of her as his longer legs showed. Still, she pulled on the Force and both of them sped across the landing area faster than anyone around could believe.

By the time they reached the flaming mound that was Jaina's fighter, Han had already brought the _Falcon_ down. Around them, transports continued to lift off with escorts of only one fighter per two ships. In a frenzied, out of place thought, Leia was reminded of their evacuation from Hoth decades ago.

Only, there was no Kale here to save her love. There were no stormtroopers crashing on their position, and no Mara Jade trying to cut out her heart. Her heart was already out, lying in a burned and bloody heap beside the shattered cockpit of a destroyed X-wing.

Han was stumbling and running as fast as he could from the _Falcon_, screaming Jaina's name. Jacen beat them all there, and landed skidding on his knees until he was beside her. Leia arrived seconds later, and finally Han.

"She's alive," Jacen whispered. He looked up with tears in his eyes. His twin's blood was on his hands and pooling around her head. "Mom?"

"Push her into a healing trance!" Leia said, snapping herself out of her shock. "Guide her deep." She turned to her husband as he stared down at the blood that was now seeping around his left boot.

"Han," she whispered, "set up the bacta tank on the _Falcon_."

More than a quarter century of military service hardened his expression. She watched with pride and deep sadness as Han buried his pain under action. He nodded decisively and ran back to the _Falcon_, where Lowbacca waited.

Nearby, one of the city shield nodes exploded. The city shields too were under a terrible barrage. She knew that the Vong ground forces would be arriving any minute now.

She turned, surprised, when Jaina's smashed X-wing lifted off the ground. Her first thought was why the repulsors would kick in now of all times. Then her eyes caught sight of the dark body suit covered in bony spikes, running up lean, powerful legs and a narrow waist that broadened into strong shoulders.

She expected to see the disturbing, skeletal face of a Yuuzhan Vong. Instead, she saw…

"Jor-El?" Jacen asked from where he knelt beside his sister.

"Do-ro'ik vong pratte!" the son of Kale Naberrie said. He spat the Vong words through clenched teeth as he spun the destroyed fighter around twice, before lobbing it across the field.

Leia could not even feel for the civilians in the fully loaded transport that the destroyed fighter hit. The transport lost control after the impact and came crashing down in a mushroom of fire.

Her eyes drifted back to Jor-El. His cheeks and forehead bore thin white scars, something Leia would never have believed possible. There were no bone spurs from his skin, but his odd living suit budded the spikes like some deranged ocean creature.

"Jor-El," she said, her heart skipping. "Oh, my friend, what did they do to your son?"

Jor-El stepped closer. "I have seen the truth," Jor-El said with an alien, guttural accent. "I have seen the lies. I serve the gods now!"

"Mother," Jacen said as he stood, "get Jaina to safety."

Leia shook her head. "Jor-El, don't you hear what you're saying? You are a Jedi!"

"I am not an abomination!" the creature before them howled. He stomped his foot in rage and permacrete shattered under the impact. "I am Qahsel! And once I have shed the blood of my master's enemies in the name of the gods, I shall be of Qahsel Domain Lah!"

"Mother," Jacen said more urgently. "Get Jaina to the _Falcon_!"

Leia couldn't move. The Force gave her no guidance, for what could even the Force do against a mad Kryptonian?

Suddenly she felt a light sheer through her mind. "Mother, you are the head of the Jedi Order! Get my sister to safety!"

The light shocked her from her stillness. She turned to see her son's determination, then down to the ground where the healing trance had slowed Jaina's blood loss. She looked back at the sneering monstrosity before them. There was only one thing to do. She used the Force to levitate her daughter to her arms and ran toward the _Falcon_.

She heard a numbing roar, but at the same time felt an incredible coalescing of the Force. She dared not turn around as she ran with Jaina in her arms. She did not feel the tears streaming down her cheeks as she reached the ramp. Han was there. "Give her to me!" he said.

Part of her wanted to say no. The mother in her screamed at the thought of relinquishing her little girl to anyone. But the Jedi in her calmed that raging pain. She handed Jaina gently to Han's arms and watched as he carried her back inside. She felt warm moisture and looked down to see the white sleeve under her Jedi robe red with her daughter's blood.

She heard another roar, and her heart stopped again. She took a long, ragged breath before she forced herself to turn around.

Qahsel stood with his hands to his head, screaming. Nearby, Jacen blazed like an avatar of the Force itself. He pulled in all the energy around him. He did not attack physically, though. There was not enough Force energy on the planet to harm the son of Kale Naberrie.

Rather, Jacen used all his skills and powers to strike directly at his enemy's mind. It was brilliant in its simplicity.

Her heart beat again with pride in her son's courage and skill. He truly was an incredible Jedi Knight.

Qahsel blurred into motion, and Jacen's chest exploded backward under the impact of a fist. Leia felt something hot and wet splash across her face.

"Jacen?" she whispered.

She held him as a baby, looking up at her with his dark serious eyes as he latched on to her nipple to feed. She remembered the way his little hands felt as he cradled her breast as his eyes closed. He would feed until he fell asleep.

She watched as he levitated his baby toys for the very first time. Han stood nearby stuttering while Jaina giggled.

She watched in joy as Jacen wielded his lightsaber against Master Katarn for the first time with skill and precision.

She watched as her older son, the most powerful Jedi since his grandfather, fell to his knees and collapsed lifelessly to the cracked permacrete. His cousin, her best friend's son, stood over the fallen body coated in her son's blood.

"Jacen?"

She turned and saw her husband standing beside her on the ramp, staring out with bulging eyes and a slack jaw. "Jacen?" he said again. His voice died in a whimper.

Qahsel stood straight and stared at them. Slowly, deliberately, he lifted the fist he used to punch through Jacen's chest, and ran his tongue through the gore there.

"Lowbacca," Leia said as she tapped her com, "lift off. Get us out of here."

"Not without Jacen!" Han cried as the _Falcon_ immediately started to lift off.

Leia did the unimaginable—she Force-pushed Han back into the _Falcon_ and followed herself as the roar of the wind tore through the entryway. As soon as she was clear the ramp sealed. "What are you doing?" Han screamed. Spittle flecked from his lips.

Leia grabbed his arms. "That was Jor-El," Leia said. "He was going to kill us. He killed Jacen. He killed our son."

The whole _Falcon_ suddenly jerked abruptly to a halt, throwing husband and wife against a wall as the engines screamed in protest. Without another word the two of them ran toward the outrigger cockpit.

Lowbacca was desperately going through the controls to get the ship moving, but Leia could see through the transparisteel that they would not move.

Qahsel floated directly in front of the ship, holding her loading arms in his hands as casually as if he were holding a child. He stared directly at them, his scarred face twisted into a malicious, maniacal grin.

"By the Force," Leia whispered.

Suddenly Han rushed forward, brushed the Wookiee aside and hit a series of switches. Qahsel looked straight ahead into the former front cargo hold just in time to see a proton torpedo shoot out just a meter away from him, directly into his chest.

He had no choice but to let go as the torpedo struck him. The _Falcon_ surged quickly into motion as Han took his seat. A second later the delayed charge on the torpedo ignited. In the cockpit Han pulled up an aft monitor and watched as a trail of smoke fell toward the landing pads below.

That was not the end, though. Han snapped his harness tight and took the _Falcon_ into a tight corkscrew roll as Vong skips rained down around them.

They broke atmosphere and saw firsthand the battle that still raged above the skies of Gyndine. Skimming the atmosphere in a faltering orbit was the burned out hulk of a _Nebula_-class destroyer. Already its shattered hull flared with plasma against the upper edges of the planet's atmosphere.

"That was Jid'dya's ship," Han muttered. He routed tactical information to the cockpit controls from the center of the ship. "Bloody hell," he muttered.

Suddenly he spun aside as two skips started firing on them. Lowbacca, with the slaved weapons controls, made quick work of both of them.

Han's fingers flew over his console. "New Republic Forces, this is Han Solo. Who's senior?"

The only response as the _Falcon_ dodged gracefully between burned-out hulks and a few ships still fighting was silence, until finally, "Solo, this is Commander Stantlin of the _Stalwart_. As far as I know, I'm senior. My captain is dead."

"So's your entire flag staff," Han said. "Look, Stantlin. I'm not in charge, but as far as I can see you've lost seventy percent of your fleet. Gyndine's lost its shields and the majority of the transports that can get away are gone. What are your orders?"

"Admiral Jid'dya clearly ordered us to stand at all cost."

"The admiral is dead, and you've paid that cost. You're too scattered and weakened to do any more damage, Commander. Take command of the fleet and pull out. Gyndine is lost."

Leia listened with only half her mind. She realized with a sense of shock that her daughter was in the medical bay all along. She unbuckled and ran through the ship until she reached the cramped medical bay.

Having a bacta tank in a freighter this size was unheard of, except for the former supreme commander of the New Republic Defense Forces. Leia caught her breath as she saw her daughter, stripped down to her undergarments, floating motionless in the gel. The burns were clearly visible through the gel, covering much of her right leg and arm, and her ribs. A huge gash ran the length of her right thigh.

Leia dashed to the monitors and saw her heartbeat had slowed down with her healing trance. All the monitors were in place, the oxygen flow to her mask was set perfectly. Han did a great job.

She looked down as she saw the torn, cut flight suit on the floor. She lifted it in her hands and then gasped as blood slowly dribbled out. She looked up and caught her face in the mirror. A line of red splatter ran up diagonally on her face from her cheek to her forehead.

_Jacen._

She was barely conscious of the ship making the jump to lightspeed as she collapsed to the floor with Jaina's bloodied flight suit in her arms. Hot tears rushed down her cheeks and washed some of Jacen's blood from her face.

The door slid open and Han stepped in, a raging outburst on his lips and fire in his eyes. He saw her there, collapsed on the floor with their children's blood running with her tears down her face, looking so very small and broken, and all the anger died in him. It shrank down to a dark, cold piece of charred carbon deep in his chest that stole any light from his life.

He had never seen her cry like that. In all their years together, Han had never seen his wife so broken as he did at that moment.

He slid down to the floor beside her, and pulled her into his arms.

"He was so brave," Leia whispered into his chest. "He was so strong. He was the perfect Jedi."

"And Kale's son killed him," Han said. His voice was utterly devoid of emotion as he held her there in his arms while their daughter fought for survival nearby.

* * *

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**Author's Notes:**

**Exodus**--I suppose in a way it could be seen like that. I actually am taking more the Star Wars Black Fleet Crises approach to Kale than the Superman II approach. That is, I'm essentially removing him from the battle because he would change it too much from where it needs to go. Is it blatantly authorial intrusion? Maybe. I'll be the first to admit I had some struggles with this fic just because of my overwhelming distaste for the original canon material. On the flipside, Jor-El essentially got over ruled by Lara, so the Superman II approach may not be what you see.

**Manus Dei**--You make good points all around as well. Kale will take a more active role, but he'll remained side-tracked for a bit longer, and as you can see that has some disastrous consequences.

**Radar666**--Thanks as always for reading!

**Dajohu**--The original LORS trilogy had relatively short chapters. In later fics I did try to make the chapters longer, but this story is simply more episodic than my other fics. So some of the chapters may be shorter. And actually, Kale and Leia do consider themselves cousins in so far as Kale has any actual family. However, if Kale and Leia are first cousins, then their children are second cousins. When you thrown in the fact that they're not cousins by blood, there is no reason why Karia and Anakin couldn't date.

And they make a really cute couple, at least in my mind.

Thank you all for reading and for your reviews.


	23. Love, War and Pathogens

Author's Notes at the end.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Love, War and Pathogens**

The first and only New Republic victory since the dismissal of General Solo left a sour taste in the mouths of all those responsible.

Alpha Blue Director Jan Ors stood next to her immediate boss, New Republic Intelligence Service Director Dif Scaur, and stared at Danni Quee quietly. "You're sure?" Jan asked.

Danni nodded. "You can see the effects even from orbit, Director. The weapon has mutated to affect non-Vong forms and has nearly wiped out the entire biosphere of the planet."

The three people stood on the bridge of a modified corvette on the edge of the planetary system while their fleet of drones continued to observe the effects. Those effects were devastating.

"Two coralskippers did launch," Danni continued her report in a dull voice, "but it appears neither made it into high orbit before they were disabled by the pathogen."

The planet in question was a small moon on the edge of Hutt space recently occupied by the Vong. As Danni brought up orbital views of the planet, Scaur and Ors could see for themselves how, over a matter of hours animated by time-lapse monitoring, the surface of the planet lost its patina of green.

They picked the planet because the entire population—mostly Rodian and Gamorrean settlers—were either sacrificed or shipped else to be sacrificed. That was not what was making the leaders of New Republic Intelligence wince even though they were responsible for the first annihilation of Vong forces on a planet since General Solo's forced retirement.

What burned was that they could never dare use it again. Despite the assurances from their Chiss colleagues and Dr. Eicroth, the virus on which the pathogen was based mutated to target life other than just Vong organisms. Otherwise it was perfect—100% lethal, 100% contagious and breathtakingly fast.

They just couldn't ever use it again.

"Cleanse the planet," Scaur said at last. His commanding voice seemed odd coming from his small body. "Shut the program down, Jan. Shut it down and bury it as far down as you can. We'll keep it in mind for final options, but that's it."

"Of course," Jan said. She clenched her mechanical hand. "We were so close. Danni, release the bombs."

Danni entered the complex command, and the probes currently monitoring the situation on the planet began releasing slow-moving, massive bombs toward the surface. The bombs dropped through the atmosphere until they exploded in a cascade that ignited the atmosphere and vaporized everything on the surface. As a tactical weapon the bombs were limited due to their size and slow speed. Most fighters could take them out before they reached their targets.

Danni watched the already dead moon burn until no trace of the pathogen remained. She then sent orders to the captain of the ship to return to Coruscant. They almost made it, too.

Almost.

* * *

The whole Senate fell silent as the horrid creature stepped onto the speaker's platform and floated to the center of the chamber. Nom Anor no longer wore his ooglith masquer. He stood before the trembling races of the Republic in all his glory, and his words reverberated through their terrified hearts.

"We have taken Gyndine," he told them all. "We Yuuzhan Vong have taken any world we wanted, and we will take more. Our gods tell us this in the sacrifices of your people. The knife stands nigh, and the heart of your Alliance is exposed. But we are not the vicious savages you make us out to be. We can show mercy, and we will. Surrender to us, acknowledge the Yuuzhan Vong your masters, turn over the Jedi to us, and your planets will be spared. Continue to oppose, though, and all your worlds will be as Gyndine."

He stopped speaking, and images began to splay across the misting field above his head showing the glorious sacrifice of hundreds of millions of sentient beings.

The whole chamber erupted with angry cries and shouts as Nom Anor signaled to the ashen-faced senatorial aide to take him back to the debarking room. "You have one week to decide," the Intendant said to Chief of State Fey'lya.

The Bothan bared his teeth in a sub-vocal growl as around him the New Republic Senate collapsed into pandemonium.

* * *

The ship was easily the size of an _Imperial_-II Class star destroyer, as were its ten companion ships. The enemy taskforce fell on Muunilinst with a vengeance. The banking world that served as the center of Imperial commerce fought back with powerful defense platforms and their own sizable defense force, but even they were no match for the deadly Vong destroyers.

Drop ships started to fall down the well when a force of ten Imperial star destroyers dropped from hyperspace around the eleven Vong capital ships. The Vong ships immediately opened fire. Then a strange thing happened that no opponent of the Vong ever witnessed before.

Shots got through the Vong defenses unimpeded. Heavy turbolaser cannon blasts tore off huge pieces of yorick coral while destroying both dovin basils and the volcano-like plasma cannons the Vong called _yaret-kors_. The enemy capital ships attempted to maneuver to respond better, but somehow seemed trapped and unable to spin around.

Despite even odds, the Vong taskforce never had a chance.

"It appears the modified gravity well projectors have the desired effect," Grand Admiral Thrawn said.

"So it seems," Grand Admiral Pellaeon said. The two men stood side-by-side on Thrawn's personal destroyer, the _Fire Bird_. "It will lose its effectiveness in large-scale engagements."

Thrawn's smile was chilling. "Which is why we will choose the size of our engagements, Admiral. I told Master Naberrie that I would have Bastion back in Imperial hands, and I fully intend to do just that."

* * *

Karia stood beside Anakin and held his hand as the two of them stared into the bacta tank that held his sister.

She could feel the grief rolling off him in waves. In fact, the whole Temple was muted in pain. Jacen was more than the Grand Master's son; he was a hero to many, and acknowledged to be the best of his or any other generation.

He was only the latest.

The number of dead Jedi increased with his passing to fifty since the start of the conflict. With only five hundred Jedi total, it was a staggering number. But what made Jacen the most painful loss to Karia was not who he was, but who killed him.

Master Solo sat in the room as well as her husband. They said nothing to Karia as they sat together, arms wrapped around the other. Master Katarn had stepped in to oversee the daily affairs of the Temple and the ongoing coordination with SELCORE, for which everyone was thankful.

Even with the Force to guide her and calm her, it was obvious Leia Organa Skywalker Solo was not the same woman.

Karia feared to speak. She was terrified that they would ask her to leave. That Anakin would jerk his hand back in disgust. Her brother did this. The boy she had known her entire life, who she loved and admired, had killed Jacen Solo. Murdered him.

She looked up at Anakin now; his face blurred with the moisture of her tears. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was that her brother had killed his. How sorry she was that her parents weren't there to make everything better. She was so very sorry, and so very lonely; she hated herself for allowing such selfish emotions to enter her mind.

She realized after a time that she really did not have a place there. That her family was responsible for their pain. With a last squeeze of Anakin's hand, she left the room. Master Healer Cilghal watched her go with a blink of her large, amphibious eyes, but said nothing.

Outside the infirmary, Karia found a bench and sat down. She didn't know at what point she started crying, only that tears were pouring down her cheeks. A presence arrived and she looked up as Corran Horn took a seat beside her.

"You are a beautiful young woman, Karia," Corran said, "but you should try to avoid crying. You look like a mess."

The comment had its intended effect. Karia smiled weakly but said nothing.

"I saw the report of what happened, and the footage from the _Falcon_'s security suite. Jor had scars on his face, like the Vong."

"I can't believe he would do this," Karia whispered. "He promised he wouldn't fall."

"I won't pretend to know what is going on in his head," Corran said. "Nor should you. In the end, Karia, the only actions you're responsible for are your own. And so far, you've acted with honor and intelligence."

"My brother killed Jacen. My parents weren't there."

Another sob broke through her control.

"That's true," Corran admitted. "But you're here now. Feel pain for your friends, Karia, but don't feel guilt. You've done nothing wrong. You are responsible only for your own actions."

He patted her knee, then pushed himself back to his feet and walked down the hall from whence he came. A moment later, she looked up to see Anakin staring down at her, his face blank.

She couldn't help it, and started crying again. The tears did not slow until she felt his hands on her cheeks, guiding her face up. His own eyes were red now, with a trickle of moisture running down the side of that cute nose of his.

"I'm so sorry," Karia whispered. "I'm so sorry for what he did."

"I know," Anakin assured her. He leaned forward until their lips met in a kiss seasoned by tears.

"Master Horn was right," he said as their lips parted. "It's not your fault. And none of us think it is." He kissed her again, desperately. As their kiss lingered, she felt a surge through the Force like they had on Kalarba. It was a connection so intense she could almost feel the kiss through his lips. It was the same every time they were able to sneak a kiss, and seemed to grow stronger, until now it made her whole body shudder with the power of it.

Anakin leaned back, eyes wide. "Wow."

Karia could only nod. Suddenly Anakin stood abruptly. "Come with me."

He led her back into the sick chamber by the hand, until he stood beside his parents. They had been speaking softly, but stopped when their youngest and only healthy child arrived with Karia in tow.

"Mom, Dad, you should know that Karia and I have started dating," Anakin announced. Beside him, Karia's already tear-flushed cheeks turned the same flaming shade of red as her hair. "That we really like each other. Really. I think…I think we may have a Force bond."

Karia blinked as realization struck her. It suddenly made sense, the way she felt him all the time, even when he wasn't close. The way his moods could affect her and her moods affected him. Somehow, they had bonded.

Han looked on with a mildly pleasant, blank expression. He had no idea what they were talking about. Beside him, though, his wife looked as if she were about to fall off the bench. "Anakin, what are you…?"

Karia felt the Master Jedi's presence against her mind; it was a light brushing of power. Suddenly Leia stood, blood rushing from her face as she stepped forward. "Anakin," she whispered, "you're only fifteen! You're too young, both of you!"

"We didn't mean to…" Anakin started.

"I'm sorry…." Karia gushed.

"It just sorta…"

"I fell in love with him."

Anakin and Karia stopped and stared at each other for a moment, then looked down at their toes. Han quickly caught on to what was happening. "You two haven't…."

No one believed Karia could flush any redder; she proved them all wrong. "No!" Anakin said too quickly. "We've never had the chance. Er, I mean…"

"It almost doesn't matter," Leia whispered. She reached up a hand to each of their cheeks. Karia could feel the cool, constant power of the Master in the Force, and how easily that power touched her very core. "You really are bonded." She sounded both amazed and profoundly sad.

"They're teens, it happens," Han said.

"Kale bonded with Mara when he was fifteen," Leia said. "You wondered once why he never looked at another woman. Why he considered Winter a sister. Why he would leave the whole galaxy to burn for her? It's because of that bond. Force bonds don't break, Han."

"I'm sorry," Karia suddenly said in a fit of sobs. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it to happen." Her knees buckled and deposited her on the floor. "My parents ran away and Jor's done so much to you. I didn't mean to!"

Leia knelt down around the girl and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I love you, Karia," she said. "Han loves you as well. You wouldn't be here if you didn't love us as well."

"Hell," Han muttered, "if anything we should be apologizing to you."

That made everyone blink. "If this Force bond thing pans out, she's a part of our family. And that's a hardship for anyone."

Karia laughed even through her tears. "I do love you all," she said. "Every time you left Naboo after a visit, I cried because I missed you all so much. I guess that makes me a crybaby."

"It makes you a crybaby that can shift the orbit of a moon," Anakin reminded her.

"So you better not ever get her mad, kid," Han warned his son. "Her father almost broke the only caf dispenser in our base at her age. No idea what kind of horrors she's capable of."

After a while, Han and Leia returned to their vigil, and Anakin and Karia sat nearby, holding hands. Her tears had dried, and she no longer felt like she was a stranger there. She knew, one way or another, that the girl for whom they were waiting was more than a distant cousin. Soon, whether by months or years, she would be a sister.

* * *

"We have one more week left," Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya said.

Senator Shesh of Kuat slumped down with a defeated look. "I don't see how we can do anything but surrender," she said. "They've soundly defeated us in every battle."

"They soundly defeated us in every battle after General Solo was forced to retire," the Wookiee senator reminded the Security Council. "Solo warned us that if we did not contain them, then we would lose."

"We have failed to contain them," Shesh said with boiling sarcasm, "and we are indeed losing. Your statement merely confirms the hopelessness of the situation."

Niuk Niuv made an odd, almost flatulent-like sound with his large lips. "I hesitate to agree with Senator Shesh, but should the Vong bring about their entire fleet and Jor-El Naberrie, then I fear for our ability to hold the planet."

The mention of Naberrie's son sent shivers around the table. Word of Gyndine spread like fire through the Senate and the rest of the New Republic Defense Forces. The son of Kale Naberrie killed the son of Jedi Master Organa Solo and was single-handedly responsible for the destruction of two destroyers in the battle.

Fey'lya slammed a fist on the table, startling everyone on the council. "So where is Kale Naberrie?"

* * *

Nen Yim was Yuuzhan Vong. She did not shy away from pain, but rather embraced it as the ultimate truth that the foul beings of this new galaxy could not understand. Upon becoming adept, she allowed her own hand to be severed so that her adept shaping hand could be attached.

That attachment was gone. She now wore the hand of an infidel—a woman's hand taken from one of the many sacrifices across the galaxy.

The pain she suffered now she accepted as another truth, and a duty to her people and her gods. For to couple with a Kryptonian hurt terribly.

Qahsel grunted and rolled off Yim's numb body. The numbness passed quickly as pain started flaring from her pelvis and thighs. Once again, she was sure he broke her pelvis. Their coupling was a brutal, physical act. There was no tenderness on his face, only a sneer of disdain. She was no better than a Shamed One.

How very Yuuzhan Vong he had become in his thoughts, she thought idly to herself as she allowed the pain to course its way through her body. She sat up and applied the healing jelly that would quickly restore the bone, as it had four times previously. Their chamber was small, but with an iris that afforded a breath-taking view of the stars. In the distance was a faint white glob—the Core of the galaxy. Their target.

She became aware of Qahsel speaking to himself. "I will drink their blood. I will crush their cities. I shall show Warmaster Lah I am worthy of his Domain. I will sacrifice millions to the gods. I killed Jacen. I will rend their ships apart with my hands and make them scream in terror."

Nen Yim became very still. She knew the name as a primary target, the son of the head of the Jedi Order. The killing of Jacen Solo caused the others in the warrior cast to accept Qahsel as one of their own. It was, however, the first time he had spoken the boy's name.

The monologue continued, but never again did she hear the name.

She knew what it meant, of course. The shaping was not permanent. Despite their best efforts—despite the interference from the monster Reck Desh—they did not truly have the means to shape the mind of a Kryptonian. Rather, they built a new personality on top of the old. They used drugs and torture to bury the psyche of Jor-El Naberrie so deeply into the shadows of his mind that nothing could drag it forward. Or so they thought.

She very quickly picked herself off the sleeping grass and limped to the refreshing room. The pain of her mending bones tickled her mind, until she finally collapsed. She took a sample of his seed from her body as were her orders, but doubted anything would come of it. She ensured her body was receptive and fertile, as only a shaper could do. Even the shadow of a warrior should have been enough to impregnate her.

But the seed of the Kryptonian killed her eggs. She suspected her three ovaries were actually being damaged as well. His seed was like bullets ricocheting through her body. It seemed impossible that any mortal woman could have conceived or borne the children of a Kryptonian.

Still, it was her duty to try. She stored the sample and sent it to the master shapers in their worldship, and then stood. Already her bone was mended. She stepped out into the room without clothes, as Qahsel had ordered.

He still stood before the iris, his lean body made repulsive by its lack of scars or adornments. Still, there was no denying his strength—strength of the gods themselves.

"I will make them all pay," he was saying to the iris.

Suddenly Nen Yim became very still as her mind raced around a new idea. New was not good. New was what put her where she was today. And yet faced with a being of such strength and power, of such utter perfection, she could not deny it.

Qahsel, and his people, were not just as powerful as the ancient Yuuzhan Vong gods.

They were gods in their own right.

* * *

[space]

**Author's Notes:**

**Dajohu**--The whole point of Jacen dying was to correct the wrong perpetrated by Lucasfilm in the books. Throughout his life in print Anakin was painted as having a destiny. Then GL decides he didn't want to heros with that name, and Anakin dies. Just like that. Well, this way Jacen dies the death of a true Jedi instead of a wannabe Sith and Anakin lives. It's a win-win.

**Exodus5**--Nope, Jacen is dead. No flim-flam.

**wawaboy**--Exactly how I feel, my friend. And exactly why I did what I did.

**Manus Dei**--Han and Leia both will have a hard time coming to grips with this.

Thank you for reading!


	24. Battles Won and Lost

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Battles Won and Lost**

War, Grand Admiral Thrawn mused, was truly an art.

The art he had found from the Yuuzhan Vong was organic and twisted, literally. The Vong found natural forms twisted into unnatural shapes to be aesthetically pleasing. It bespoke of not just sadism, but also masochism. A desire to both inflict and receive pain.

In this, the Grand Admiral was more than willing to oblige them.

The Battle of Bastion would go down in history as one of the most successful campaigns not just in the Yuuzhan Vong war, but possible in all the wars ever fought.

The tactic became known as the Jaws of Thrawn.

The Imperial fleet reverted from hyperspace in two large units of sixty ships each, arrayed against a defensive Vong force of over two hundred enemy vessels and a world ship. The two divisions snapped together at a vertical approach to the horizontal formation of Vong ships. The _Imperial_-II class star destroyers at the vanguard of the approach opened fire with every weapon on the entire surface of the dorsal side of the ship, while presenting the heavily armored belly to the rest of the enemy ships.

This gave the attack the duel vector approach first proposed by General Solo, but refined to a sharp point. For the attack—ten star destroyers from each wave—targeted only ten enemy ships on the edges of the formation. The Vong commanders responded instantly, but all were stunned when shots, missiles and torpedoes passed easily through the dovin basils to impact on the yorick coral hulls.

Under the combined might of two massive warships firing from both ends, each of the ten targeted enemy vessels crumpled and died. The two rows of star destroyers flew by each other in a slightly staggered formation resembling the sharp teeth of a giant beast closing together in one massive bite.

Right behind the first wave came the second, targeting another ten enemy vessels. They successfully "chewed" through fifty enemy ships before the Vong fleet responded by breaking their formation. The Imperials took heavy casualties, but then their own tactics adjusted to this change. Large portions of the Vong fleet were left untouched and unchallenged as the Imperials concentrated three star destroyers to every Vong ship they engaged. And always, always, the ships stayed in motion. Not once did a star destroyer drop below one quarter sublight. This had the double effect of forcing dovin basils to divide their efforts between propulsion and shielding.

From a distance, it looked almost like a ballet.

"Remarkable," Grand Admiral Pellaeon said with open admiration.

"The way to fight brutality is with grace," Thrawn said. He nodded. "Give the order, Grand Admiral. The enemy fleet has sufficiently disbursed."

Sensors picked up a flare of Cronau radiation from the far side of Bastion, which was completely ignored by the fighting ships. It was ignored, until a massive wedge of black cleared the atmosphere. Over seventeen kilometers of death rounded the horizon of the planet, shaped like a massive arrow-head pointed directly at the heart of the star-shaped worldship.

"I still don't understand how you were able to have that ship ready so quickly," Pellaeon said as the _Eclipse-_class super dreadnaught _Bastion's Hope_ fired its superlaser. The massive energy burst struck one of the arms on the hundred-kilometer-wide worldship and sheered it off in a spectacular explosion that sent shards of yorik coral as large as frigates flying into the rear of the Vong fleet.

"It's basic Imperial thinking, dear Gilad," Thrawn said. "This is the sister ship to the original _Eclipse_. After all, why build just one bloated, overly expensive project when you can build two for three times the cost. My subordinates kept it safely hidden in the Wild Space region until I called on it."

The worldship was badly wounded, but fought back viciously as thousands of plasma bursts struck against the powerful shields of the super dreadnaught. The superlaser fired again, directly into the main body of the worldship.

The two grand admirals watched as the thick beam of green energy ripped through the bulge of the enemy ship and exploded out the back in another massive flare of shrapnel. Because of their vector of approach, the shrapnel did not fall toward Bastion, but toward the now increasingly disorganized Vong fleet.

"That must have killed their war coordinator," Pellaeon noted. "As you predicted, their fighters are no longer flying in perfect formation. Our kill ratio has just gone up. However, we're still facing close to forty percent casualties."

Thrawn signed, but nodded. His dark red eyes continued to watch as the super dreadnaught obliterate the worldship.

"Do you still think we need the Republic?" Pellaeon asked.

"My intelligence estimates there are now several dozens of these worldships spread throughout the galaxy. We scored a victory here, but even with superior weapons and tactics, lost forty percent of our force. If the Republic falls, how long do you think it will be before all those worldships return to Bastion?"

Pellaeon nodded. "If it were General Solo, or even Jedi Master Solo in charge, I would think the chances of an alliance were good. But my people tell me Fey'lya has a deep hatred of the Empire, and is irrational enough to let that hatred affect his decision making."

"We'll know more when the Republic responds to the terms of surrender proposed by the Vong," Thrawn said. The last elements of the worldship exploded. The _Bastion's Hope_ began a hasty retreat from the field as Vong warships converged on it. Still, it continued to dish out terrible punishment as it fled. The superlaser continued to fire, easily destroying the largest of the enemy ships in single shots, while its vast array of heavy turbolaser cannons and gravity well projectors wreaked havoc with the smaller ships.

By the time the super dreadnaught withdrew, the "jaws" of the main force had arrived and chewed easily through the remaining Vong ships. Only after the last ship was destroyed did the fleet of ten interdictor-class star destroyers drop their cloaks, demonstrating why the Empire was able to so successfully disable the dovin basils of the enemy.

"Pure artistry," Thrawn commented as he looked over the vast rubble field that surrounded the battle. "Begin surface operations. We're taking Bastion back."

Cheers ran through the bridge of the Grand Admiral's star destroyer. This battle was won.

* * *

Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya stood alone on the central pod of the Senate, looking up and around at the thousands of representatives that made up the government of the New Republic.

"Two weeks ago today, the Yuuzhan Vong sent an emissary to address this body. This emissary called for the unconditional surrender of the New Republic. The deadline for our response is today. It is now."

A wave of rustling began in the Kuat sector of the Senate. The senators already knew through committees and back channels. As anyone in politics knew, the decisions were not made before the holocams, but in the back offices and committee chambers.

The decision today would affect the galaxy forever.

"When I assumed office," Fey'lya said, "it was in a state of emergency, fear and pain. We had lost a beloved leader to a terrible enemy. I took immediate steps I thought necessary to secure our safety. I let a lifetime of animosity with the leadership of our Defense Forces color my decisions, and I made mistakes. If there is any single person to blame for the current state of the galaxy, then I as your elected leader accept that blame wholly. I have made mistakes, but I cannot continue making them. Not now, not ever again."

In orbit, just on the edge of the gravity well of the planet, a massive structure a hundred kilometers long, shaped like a Dubrillion starfish, dropped into real space. Instantly the Coruscant defense fleet mobilized. Seconds later, three hundred Vong capital ships appeared as well.

The hundred and twenty-three New Republic capital ships, under the command of Admiral Traest Kre'fey, drew up in a parabolic defensive formation.

"It is therefore the decision of this government," Fey'lya said, "that the New Republic will NOT surrender to the Yuuzhan Vong! That is our duty, and the duty of every sentient being in the galaxy, to oppose these monstrous invaders to the last!"

Many in the Senate stood to boo; others stood to cheer. Viqi Shesh stood, pulled the switch on the seed pod Nom Anor had given her, and tossed it into the chamber below before stepping out of the room. Seconds later the pod began spraying an invisible aerosol into the swirling atmosphere of the raucous senate chambers.

The first to enjoy the efits of Viqi Shesh's gift was Senator Oblrieps of Brodo Asogi. The Force-strong, puddle-footed creature's translucent chest took on a glow from his lucent heart as he desperately grasped at his long neck in an effort to breath. Seconds later he was dead, followed by a hundred of those senators closest to him.

By the time the senate threat detection system went off, almost a quarter of the senate was dead. As guards rushed forward to grab Fey'lya, a panic had taken hold of desperate officials scrambling for safety. Unfortunately for them they took the quickly replicating spores with them. Every victim that fell produced a cloud of the deadly spores with their dying breaths.

Fey'lya stumbled toward the exit of the chambers. He could see the exit, but nothing else. It seemed as if darkness were closing in on him. He was dimly aware of hands on his furred arms and a gasping sound, but as he fell forward, already dead, he would never realize it was he who was dying.

The Battle of Coruscant had begun.

In the Jedi Temple, Leia had fallen into a light slumber on her husband's shoulder in their quarters when a surge of danger reached her through the Force. She woke with a start. "Han," she said.

Han woke with a snort. "What?"

"Something's wrong."

He wiped sleep from his eyes and drool from the corner of his mouth. He started to ask what when they felt a tremble under their feet. A moment later they heard the distant report of an explosion. The two ran to the window overlooking the city. The senate building was not just burning—it was gone.

Han rushed back to his office just as Kyle Katarn stepped into the room. "Fey'lya rejected the terms of surrender," he said. "The Vong are attacking."

"The Senate building?"

"That was us," Katarn said. "Vong agents introduced a biological agent. It's wiped out nearly the whole senate and was starting to spread. Security had no choice but to neutralize the threat. They've vaped the whole sector."

Han emerged from his office, pale. "Kre'fey's getting his tail whipped," Han said. "We have no hope of holding the planet. We've got to evacuate."

Leia accepted his judgment without pause. "Kyle, start gathering the padawans. Inform everyone to gather at the hangar. Do we have enough ships?"

"Yes," Kyle said. "The Horn family is here as well and can take more than a few."

"I'll get Jaina," Han said. "Meet me at the _Falcon_."

The three of them split up and Han ran as fast as he could through the pristine temple. Word was already spreading and the Jedi were quickly packing what they needed before moving to the back passages that led to their dedicated hangar.

He emerged into the medical facility just in time to see Cilghal and her padawans gathering the wounded and ill. Many were civilians. Han ran directly for one of the private rooms. Inside, Anakin and Karia were speaking to the still weak, but very much awake Jaina Solo.

Han's little girl looked much better than the last time he saw her. She had cut off her long hair so that when the patch that was burned off grew back, it would be even. It gave her a withered look not helped by the dark circles under her eyes. Still, she smiled when Han rushed in.

The smile faded quickly. "We're under attack," he said. "We're evacuating the Temple."

No one asked questions or bothered to comment. Han did not speak as a father, but as a life-long military officer issuing an order that had to be followed. Anakin quickly released the clamps on Jaina's bed and Karia flicked on the repulsor coils in the bed. It floated effortlessly before Anakin as Han rushed out of the room.

They reached the nearest turbolift and climbed in along with a dozen other padawans. Han looked them over—the oldest was three years younger than Karia, and the youngest looked to be six. "Do you all know where you're supposed to go?"

They all nodded in unison as they stared up at the famous general. Han grinned back at them. "Show me how fast you guys can run, then. Better not let an old man beat you."

The doors opened on the ground level, and the padawans charged at a full run.

Han, Anakin, Karia and Jaina on her bed emerged themselves when the roof of the main hall suddenly ruptured. "We just got that thing repaired!" Han said.

Something shot to the floor before them and landed with sufficient force to crack the permacrete. Han's face drained of blood as he beheld the man who killed his son.

"Prepare to die, Blasphemers!" Qahsel roared.

Karia too stood frozen, stunned by what she saw. His skin bore scars, but his whole presence in the Force felt wrong. Twisted almost beyond recognition.

Qahsel rose off the ground as padawans screamed in terror and knights scurried for cover. He ignored them all as he flew toward Han and his family. "I am going to finish what I started," he said. "With your blood, I will be made whole."

"Don't you touch my kids," Han growled in rage, and hopelessness.

Qahsel laughed. "I will kill you last."

His eyes turned to Anakin. "You, I will kill first."

Through her Force-bond Karia felt the young Solo's terror, then felt Force-borne calm flow through him. Anakin raised his chin. "You may destroy my body, but you will never kill me," he said.

Qahsel burst forward. For Karia, time slowed to a terrible crawl as she watched her brother fly toward the brave young man she loved. Jor-El was always stronger than her, always faster. But she was always smarter.

And she was desperate.

Twin spears of fire shot from her eyes and struck Qahsel in the shoulder. The power of the blast knocked him off his trajectory and he fell through the wall behind Han. "Go!" Karia said.

Qahsel emerged a moment later, and Karia spun to meet him. He flew directly at her. She spun just enough to avoid his attack and swung her fist down on his back. The twisted Vong weapon crashed into the floor at full speed, drawing a long furrow.

Behind her, she felt the others hesitating. She turned to them and said, "Go!"

"Karia!" Anakin said.

"I like your body, Anakin," she said with a tight, terrified grin. "I don't want him to destroy it. Go, protect your sister. I'll catch up."

With a last look, Anakin nodded and then joined his father as he pushed Jaina toward the hangar bay. She spun back to watch as Qahsel picked himself up. His mouth was set in a terrible smile. "This will be fun," he said. "Prepare to die, _little sister_."

"Jor, why are you doing this?" she asked. "You're in there, I know it. You have to be. Break free. Don't do this."

He lashed out with heat vision, and Karia responded. His was too strong and she had to spin out of the engagement before he blinded her. He rushed forward, and once again she danced clear with a glancing blow that sent him flying. He was stronger than she was, but she was marginally faster. It would have to be enough.

She reached up with the Force and pulled just as Qahsel flew toward her. A large slab of permacrete struck him mid-flight and crushed him to the ground. He stood and threw it clear. "I'm getting tired of this," he said.

He rushed forward. Karia danced aside, directly into his fist. She danced to the right each time, and did so once more. This time he anticipated it.

The blow caused a ringing in Karia's ears and a sense of confusion as she flew across the floor of the temple to crash into a nearby column. Suddenly Jor was there, holding her body down with his weight as his fists struck her face and chest like pistons. The ringing grew more intense and terrible, searing pain roared into her mind as he tried to crush her face.

He paused and looked down at the stunned, barely conscious form of his sister. "Warmaster Lah says he wants to harvest Kryptonian children to better the Vong race," he said. "My current slave is not sufficient for the task. Maybe I shouldn't kill you. Maybe I should use you to make weapons for the Yuuzhan Vong. Would you prefer that, _dear sister_?"

Karia heard him as if through a filter. She did not understand the leering expression on his twisted face, or the way he straddled her to the ground. or the way he thrust his pelvis as he straddled her to the floor. She only thought one thing: they had failed him. She, Father and Mother, had all failed him. He needed them, and they were not there to save him.

"I'm sorry, Jor," she whispered through split, bleeding lips. "I love you so much. I'm sorry we weren't there for you."

The leering expression died. His face became like stone. "Damn you," he said in a deathly cold voice. "Damn you!"

He raised his fist and somehow Karia knew this blow had all of his power in it—power enough to kill her.

The fist came down with stunning speed and Karia closed her eyes.

The blow never landed. She felt Qahsel's weight lift from her body and looked up. If she had the energy, she would have cried in relief.

Kale Naberrie stood in his black Kryptonian jumpsuit. In one hand he gripped Qahsel's fist. In the other, his son's neck, and held the boy well off the ground. His face was twisted in a mixture of disgust and rage. "Stay away from her." "It's time to stop picking on your sister, Jor-El," Kale said.

With his other hand, Qahsel reached for a lightsaber hanging from the back of his belt. "Dad!" she screamed.

Kale must have sensed the danger. Milliseconds before Qahsel slashed with the Kryptonite lightsaber, Kale threw him across the temple. Qahsel halted his progress mid-air and dropped to the floor, a green saber gripped in his hand.

So absorbed by her father and brother, Karia never saw her mother until she felt the two strong arms lift her from the ground. She turned, stunned.

Mara Jade looked different. Her green eyes had a new, intense sheen much closer to Jor-El's than the old color. Her skin looked smoother somehow, her hair more lustrous. She looked ten years younger.

"Mother?" she whispered.

Mara held her close. "I'm sorry we've been gone so long," she whispered. "But no more. Never again. Kale did it, Sweetheart. We found the cure. And I won't ever get sick like that again."

In a burst of superhuman speed, Mara carried her daughter through the main hall of the temple.

* * *

"Anakin!"

"What?"

Han Solo stared at his son. "I said get to the cockpit and warm her up!"

Anakin looked back across the hangar bay toward the great hall, then nodded. He ran up the ramp of the _Falcon_ and Han pushed Jaina. He could see his wife nearby directing knights and padawans on another of the Jedi transports. A squadron of X- and E-wing fighters hovered nearby. All were piloted by Jedi knights and waited to escort the transports.

Kyle Katarn was on the other side, overseeing the loading of essential records and foodstuffs.

Leia finished with her task and ran back to Han. A flock of young padawans followed. "We're going to have a few passengers," she noted.

Han merely nodded. His eyes too traveled back through the hangar. "It's going to be okay," Leia said. She placed a hand on his arm. He turned to her and saw the desperate hope in her face when she said that.

Before either could speak, they felt a rush of wind. One of the padawans squealed.

Mara Jade stood before them with a bloodied and unconscious Karia in her arms. "I'm sorry we're late," she said.

"Where's Kale?"

The whole temple shuddered not from an explosion, but from what felt like a seismic tremor. "He's having a discussion with our son."

"Mara," Leia began.

"I know what he did." Mara's face was stony. "That's why Karia was in there trying to stop him. That's why Kale is there now. That's why I'm asking you to take her with you. Jor-El is our son. He's our responsibility. We can't let him do to anyone else's children what he did to Jacen." Her voice caught then, though her face remained unreadable stony. "One way or the other, we can't ever let that happen again."

Han stepped forward and took Karia, then staggered. "I forget how heavy Little Red is," he muttered as he staggered with her back up the ramp of the _Falcon_.

The padawans followed at Leia's urging, and the two women found themselves alone. They stood in silence for the longest time. "You look different. The way you moved…"

"The only way to cure me was to make me like Kale," Mara said. "I've never felt such pain in my life. His parents tore me apart, molecule by molecule, and rebuilt me." She looked down at her hands. Two whole, organic, hands. "They took my scars and wounds away, and made me Kryptonian. But my soul is my own."

She looked up at Leia, and then very slowly—as if fearing rejection—Mara took the Jedi Master in a tight hug. "I love you, Leia," she whispered. "I am so sorry. I can't tell you how my heart bleeds for you."

Mara opened her mind in the Force, and Leia saw for herself. Overwhelming guilt and loss, rage, anger, despair and helplessness. Pain. And a deep, abiding love for all those in her life.

Mara stepped back. "We will stop him," she finally said. "One way or the other."

Leia found her own eyes watering. "I know you will," Leia said. "We're regrouping at Alderaan. Meet us there."

"We will," Mara promised.

* * *

Kyle Katarn watched as his fellow Jedi Master and friend climbed into the _Millennium Falcon_ with her husband and a flock of padawans on her heels. Around him, the last of the padawans and younglings were loaded into the various transports and ships under the guidance of nervous but determined knights and a handful of other masters.

One of those masters stepped away from his own personal transport where stragglers were climbing up, and moved to stand beside Kyle. Beyond them in the great hall came a sound like thunder, followed quickly by the more abrupt sound of an explosion. Both masters knew that two titans fought, and the whole temple was likely to be destroyed in the conflict.

"There's room for you with us," Corran Horn said softly.

"Thanks," Kyle said. "I'm not going, though."

Corran said nothing for a long time. He knew that Kyle had more to say. "You know, twenty some odd years ago, Jan and I were part of the special forces team that infiltrated Coruscant during Operation Freedom's Hammer? We snuck in inside vac-sealed food transports. Ran into a mutant rancor, of all things."

"I bet that was a story," Corran said. He knew, since he had heard the story at least a dozen times from his long-time friend. It was Kyle more than anyone else that brought Corran into the Jedi Order. Kyle was a man that, like him, had a long history of action and strife before he found the Force. Like him, there was a woman he loved more than he loved the Order itself. Like Corran, Kyle Katarn was a man who would do what he felt was right regardless of what anyone else would say.

"You're staying, aren't you?" Corran finally asked.

"I can feel Jan," Kyle said. "She's still alive."

Corran did not dispute that. He would have known in an instant if he lost his wife, no matter where in the galaxy she might have been. The Force bond between loved ones was stronger than anything those without such a bond could imagine.

"You think she's coming here?" Corran asked.

"I can't say for sure," Kyle said, "but something in my heart says I'll see her again. The Force is telling me to stay."

Behind them, the first transport and its X-wing escort blasted out of the hangar. Outside they could see the skies filled with fights in unimaginable numbers.

Corran put a hand on Kyle's shoulder, and then pulled his friend into a tight hug. "Take care of yourself, Kyle," he said. "You have my com. If you need me…"

"I'll call," Kyle said. "Let Leia know what happened and why. Let her know that I'm going to do everything I can to resist the Vong while they're here. Everything, and anything."

"I will, my friend," Corran said. "May the Force be with you, and with her."

"And with her," Kyle agreed. "Force be with you. Go get your family out of here, and be safe."

With a last nod of respect, friendship and even love, Corran Horn turned and walked about to his wife's transport where his two children stood waiting, and minutes later blasted through the hangar with the rest of the Jedi Order's transports.

* * *

Qahsel stood with the lightsaber in his hand. It was an abomination, an undead thing, but with it he had the ability to kill the enemies of his master. To kill Kale Naberrie.

Across from him, he watched as Naberrie removed his own lightsaber and lit it. The blade was golden in color. A small shard of Qahsel's mind produced a memory of a tale on how Naberrie had received a golden lightsaber.

He crushed the memory as unimportant. "Do-ro'ik vong pratte!" he cried as he rushed forward at the speed of light.

Kale spun away and slashed down with his own saber and struck Qahsel on the shoulder. The Vong creature twisted away with a cry of anger. The golden saber hurt more than a normal one, though it did not cut like his did. "You play with me?" he roared. He flew forward again, his sword swinging with blinding speed.

Gold and green clashed in a cackle of energy as Kale met the charge blow for blow. Mara emerged from the hanger on the edge of the fight and watched as her husband and son fought faster than the mortal eye could follow.

She could follow it, though. The powers that came with her new body were still strange to her, but she knew instinctively that she could follow the fight. As the world crumbled around them, she watched as the men in her life fought a battle that could easily end in death.

* * *

Admiral Kre'Fey coughed as the stench of burned flesh tickled his sensitive nose. "Status?"

"Port and fore shields are gone," a lieutenant reported. The captain was dead. "We have sublight, engineering reports hyperdrive is off line but they are working on it. We're drifting from the field, sir."

"Give me tactical."

The holographic representation of the battle did not look good. The Bothan's defensive formation was shattered beyond repair. Individual New Republic ships tried clumping together in small pockets of defense while the Vong sent dropships to the surface almost unmolested. The fact that the enemy capital ships were covered in small bubbles of civilians had not stopped Kre'fey for even a second. They were already dead, and he could not allow a trillion more innocents to die without challenge.

The challenge proved useless.

The tactical view showed millions of ships fleeing from the capital world. Frigates, freighters, transports and luxury liners spilled away on the far side of the planet to seek what sparse shelter they could from the enemy storm.

There were two remaining New Republic fleets, but they were scattered helplessly across the galaxy at the orders of the Minister of Defense. A minister, Kre'fey learned moments into the battle who was dead. Along with the rest of the government.

Suddenly his gold line admiralty channel barked. "Traest, this is Solo. You alive?"

"I'm alive, Solo," Kre'fey snarled. "I'm kind of busy here."

"I see that." All humor left the voice. "Traest, the Jedi Order is evacuating to Alderaan. If we have any hope of surviving, I need you and the rest of the fleet to come with us. I can see what's happening. We've lost."

The Bothan let his shoulders drop. "I know," he admitted. He turned to the lieutenant, then the remnants of his bridge crew. The last plasma burst took half the bridge out.

"Give me fleet-wide," he said. When the lieutenant nodded, the admiral said, "This is Kre'Fey. I am ordering a general retreat. Preserve our assets as best we can and retreat. Fall back to position _Krenth_ and await further orders. In the event I am unable to join you, I am reactivating General Han Solo to active duty and placing him in command. You hear that, Han?"

"I hear you, Traest."

The Bothan leaned back and watched as the tangled mess that was his fleet tried to extricate itself from the battle. "Please let engineering know that we will be happy to leave as soon as they find it convenient to fix the hyperdrive."

The lieutenant nodded and translated the order to, "Get the damned thing fixed, we're retreating!"

The battle of Coruscant was lost, as was the New Republic itself.

* * *

[sp]

**Author's Responses**

First, I'd like to thank Exodus5; dajohu; JC; The-Knight2000; Manus Dei; and prudiisten. Thank you folks for reading.

Q: That force bond thing between Mara and Kale doesn't fully fly.

A: Kale didn't fully control the force, but as seen in the first story he could still grasp it. However, whether it was the Force or his own Kryptonian mental state, he formed a an emotional bond to Mara that he carried through the rest of the story. Mara did not share it to the extent he did, so it was not a mutual bond at first. However, how else would a teenage Jedi describe her father's love? She used the best terminology she knew.

Q: Any chance you do other Clark/Kar-el going different sci-fi shows,like Babylon5,Farscape,Firefly,nBattlestar Galactica,Startrek.

A: This will probably be my last story with this character. However, I hesitate to say never because I can never tell what will hit me in the future.

Q: I don'treally understand how anyone could have found them interesting. To me, they're repugnant in every way

A: They had no redeeming qualities as far as villains went. They were boring and disgusing and frankly unpleasant to read about. That's one of the many reasons I hesitated even writing this.

Thanks again for reading!


	25. Green and Gold

Author's Responses at the end.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Green and Gold**

New Republic Defense Force soldiers formed hastily drawn lines behind barricades composed of collapsed buildings on all the main walkways as the Vong drop ships arrived. The battle of Coruscant was not like any battle the Yuuzhan Vong had fought. There were no clear areas for them to marshal their forces. There were no massive plains with a definite defensive line to approach.

The whole planet was a city, and was heavily populated and equally heavily defended.

Yet they came anyway. Millions of Chazrach, hundreds of thousands of Vong warriors, and beasts of such horrifying countenance and variety that the defenders simply stopped trying to track what was what and fired as best they could. Tanks and battle droids fought artillery beasts and fire breathers. Republic AT-ATs encountered Vong rakamats.

In every battle, the defense forces fell back in disarray with stunning losses. Sectors of the planet crumbled under the onslaught as coral skippers flew almost unchallenged through the sky. Coruscant was falling, not slowly at all, but very surely.

Warmaster Tsavong Lah was among the first warriors to land; he surveyed the hateful edifices of the un-living city with disdain. Clouds of smoke rose up from buildings as far as he could see. Behind him stood two figures—Intendant Nom Anor had finally found his way back into the Warmaster's good graces with the coup involving his agent, Viqi Shesh. The other was none other than Reck Desh.

Desh watched the battle with a blank expression. "Qahsel has reached the Jedi Temple," he announced.

"How do you know this?"

"I can hear them fighting."

Lah accepted the strange powers of the infidel with an imperceptible nod.

"Ahh," Desh whispered. "He's finally returned."

Lah turned and stared. "What do you speak of?"

"Naberrie is here. He is fighting Qahsel, just as we hoped. He is so determined to save his son that he is allowing this world to crumble around him."

"I do not wish to lose Qahsel," Lah said. "He has become a valuable weapon against the infidels. When Supreme Overlord Shimrra arrives, I will present this world to him with Qahsel as his personal servant."

Desh took the hint. "Then it would be best for me to go assist him," he said.

With a rush of air and a blur of motion, Desh was gone.

"Trust that one little," Nom Anor said when he was gone.

"You brought him to me, Intendant," Lah said in a threatening growl.

"He, like Qahsel, is an amphistaff to be used. But he can also turn in your hand and bite you, if it benefits him to do so. When Qahsel is made whole as Yuuzhan Vong, it may be advisable to use him against Desh."

"Perhaps," Lah said. He thought back to the last report from Nen Yim. "I want the secret of his power in our grasp before I risk him in such a battle. Yim has been unsuccessful conceiving a child. I have ordered her to take a different approach with him."

Desh heard the entire conversation as he flew toward the Jedi Temple, but he did not care. The Vong were the tool, not he.

Ahead, he could see the Jedi Temple. Or more precisely, the remnants of the temple. The last transports were already fleeing, but what caught his attention was the collapsed edifice that once framed the giant doors of the temple.

The titanic struggle between Kale Naberrie and his son still raged. He caught the glare of green and gold lightsabers even from three kilometers away. The blades moved in a dance of blinding speed. The fact that much of the temple was destroyed while the two fought proved to Desh that his plan had been successful.

He approached and confirmed his suspicions. Kale Naberrie was stronger and faster than his son, but was simply unwilling to strike a killing blow. Jor-El, while smaller and weaker, refused to give up and continued to try and kill his father. That one difference leveled the relative dissonance in their power.

Then he spotted a flame of red hair, and Reck Desh smiled. "The wife!" he crowed aloud. If Kal-El lost his precious wife, then it was entirely possible he would be distracted enough for Jor-El to finish him. Even if not, it might drive Kal-El into a rage sufficient enough for him to destroy his only son.

Either way, Desh won.

He descended on Mara Naberrie with a predatory smile. He landed hard enough to crack the permacrete directly behind her. She spun around, but he already had her by the neck. "Poor little human," he whispered. "I wonder how Kal-El will feel watching me rip your body apart?"

"He'd probably want to do this," she whispered. Her eyes took on a red glow.

"What…Arghhh!"

Desh dropped her as Kryptonian heat vision seared into his own eyes. He blinked back the pain and quickly reconfigured his visual sensors. "What is this?"

"You're the one, aren't you?" Mara said with narrowed eyes. "You're the one who took my son and turned him into a monster. You're the one Jor-El warned us about. Brainiac."

Desh straightened. "What did that fool do to you, woman?" Desh demanded.

"He made me an equal for his son to love," Mara said. She snapped out a kick with precision that would have made even her old master proud. Only, she did so with speed and strength unparalleled by any but her family.

Her foot crashed into the side of Desh's head and shattered it. He flipped through the air toward the far wall and crashed through it. "Kale, Brainiac is here!" Mara called.

Across the shattered remains of the Jedi Great Hall, Kale nodded. "The real villain," he said.

"No villain," Qahsel snarled. He wiped soot and permacrete dust from his face with his arm. "He showed me the truth."

"He turned you into a lie," Kale said. "I failed you, my son. You and your mother both needed me, and I chose her over you. I'm sorry that I wasn't there to save you then. But I'm here now. And so is your mother. We're going to save you, Jor-El. We love you too much to do anything else."

With a blur Mara was there too with a green lightsaber made from a traditional adegan crystal. "What is this?" Qahsel demanded. "How can this vermin move with your speed?"

"She's Kryptonian now," Kale said. "But she is still your mother. I am your father. We love you, Jor-El. We will save you."

A massive mushroom cloud rose over the distant horizon as Vong forces obliterated the NRDF headquarters building. Overhead, the sky turned a scintillating shade of gold, before the color fled. Almost immediately, thousands of plasma bolts came raining down in a sheet of death that swept inexorably toward them.

Suddenly Desh was there again. The indentation in his head caused by Mara's kick was filling in with a strange, black fluid that solidified and restored both skin and hair even as they watched. "We will continue this discussion another time," Desh said. He grabbed Qahsel's arm, and blurred into flight.

"Like hell!" Kale roared and immediately took flight after them. A moment later, less sure of her new powerss, came Mara.

Desh and Qahsel flew directly toward the approaching sheet of plasma fire. They began an intricate dance of flight around the down-pouring balls of fire and brimstone that was steadily leveling an entire sector of the planet-wide city. Kale came straight through, blowing through the blossoming clouds of smoke and debris that rose up from the dying city. From the midst of the destruction a single gleaming tower rose unscathed as localized shields protected it from the worst of the onslaught.

With a grim smile thrown over his shoulder, Desh led Qahsel directly through the tower. Once through, he stopped. "Topple it!" he ordered Qahsel.

The warrior did as he was ordered. He darted forward and pushed.

Kale saw the top of the tower falling and realized what it meant. "Mara!" he roared in the Force.

"I'll get it," she said. "Go!"

She sped past him and caught the falling section of tower even as Kale flew past after the fleeing forms of his son and Desh. It was Mara's first time trying to lift something truly large, and she struggled with the effort. Finally, she realized she could not lift it, but did have sufficient strength to guide it gently down. Through the Force she could feel terrified people inside.

Ahead, a squadron of NRDF soldiers and battle droids were fighting a desperate rear-guard action against twenty times their number of Chazrach soldiers and a hundred Yuuzhan Vong warriors. Firebreathers strolled along the large plaza toward the wavering defensive line.

Desh grabbed Qahsel's arm once more and spun him around like a slingshot until he released the young Kryptonian like a missile directly toward the New Republic forces. Qahsel shot through the plaza floor like a missile and destroyed four of the supports below it. Knowing exactly what Desh meant to do, Qahsel then used his lightsaber and began destroying the repulsor coils that kept the impossible architecture of Coruscant from toppling over.

Desh slowed as Kale came streaking toward him. "It is time to choose, Kal-El!" Desh cried. "Your son, or the humans?" Behind him, Qahsel came floating up with his kryptonite lightsaber lit and ready. "You cannot have both."

The three of them floated above the chasm that formed when the connecting span between the Vong forces and the NRDF cracked and fell into the lower city.

"I can try," Kale said. He reached out his right hand and the crazily tilting platform filled with thousands of civilians stopped falling and straightened.

Desh and Qahsel both rushed forward, but found their progress inexplicably halted when Kale raised his other hand. "Let me go!" Qahsel screamed.

Desh, however, appeared openly stunned. "You seem to have forgotten what I am, Brainiac," Kale said. "Not just Kryptonian, but Jedi as well."

"There are limits even to your power, though, Kal-El," Desh said.

That's when the ground forces of the Yuuzhan Vong began firing at Kale. Fire breathers and rakamats began belching out barrages of plasma fire. The first blow struck Kale in the ribs, but he gritted his teeth and did not loosen his Force grip. The next ten that hit were too much. Desh and Qahsel both broke free and charged toward him as the platform below began to tilt once again.

Kale threw the plasma off, Force-gripped Desh and threw the synthetic being directly into Qahsel. The two hit with an audible thud that reverberated through the area. Both tumbled into the shadows even as Kale continued to fall.

He finally recovered his flight enough to dart through the air and catch the edge of the platform where several civilians had already tumbled and were themselves handing on for dear life. Kale used the Force to flip them back over the safety rails as he straightened the platform. He looked up and saw two streaks in the sky darting between the plasma.

"This isn't over," Kale muttered.

He looked around and motioned for a soldier with an officer's insignia. "Captain, do you know where the nearest evac center is?"

The captain, as stunned as his soldiers at the turn of events, nodded. "We were on our way when we were attacked."

"Get the rest of your people off the platform and I'll accompany you," Kale said.

The captain, with something concrete to do, began issuing orders with much more confidence. The last of the civilians were herded off the platform, followed by the soldiers and finally by the battle droids. Only once they were clear did Kale allow the platform to collapse.

Moments later Mara joined him. "Where's Jor?"

Kale looked at her a moment and she nodded. "I understand. What are we doing?"

"We're going to try and get as many civilians away as we can," Kale said. He looked down and saw that his jumpsuit was in tatters from the plasma barrage, but the fabric was attempting to re-knit itself. Mara also wore a jumpsuit with the El family crest on her chest, albeit a smaller version. The suit accentuated her curves, the black made her hair shine all the brighter. "We are going to get him back," Kale said.

"I know," Mara said simply.

The two of them joined the party of mostly human refugees and their military escort. "Captain," Kale said. "How far is it to the evac point?"

The captain, who appeared still in his twenties, stared at the crest on Kale's uniform and the lightsaber on his belt a moment before he mustered a response. "About ten klicks away." A rain of plasma bolts swept through a clumping of nearby towers. "But with the damage I'm not sure we're going to make it."

Mara also walked through the civilians and was aware of eyes on her. She was unaccustomed still to the potency of her hearing, and so was not able to shut out the constant whispers. "That's Kale Naberrie." "That's his wife." "She can fly too?" "Where were they?"

The last question was repeated again and again, and more often than not the stares she received were accusatory. This was, she knew, exactly how Kale felt when he emerged from Naboo to save Jor-El the first time.

She returned to her husband's side. "We have a problem," Kale said. "The evacuation route these people were following has been obliterated."

Mara looked back and estimated perhaps two thousand civilians and another three hundred soldiers. They were going to need a full transport ship. Or…. "We could always borrow a Vong drop ship."

The young captain stared. "A Vong ship?"

Kale grinned. "They would be less likely to fire on one of their own."

"There was a drop ship just a little ways back from where we came," Mara noted.

"Captain," Kale said. "I want you to stay here." He looked at his wife.

"I'll stay with them," she said.

With a nod, Kale shot into the air. "He really is Naberrie," the captain whispered aloud. He looked back down at Mara. "But the stories said you were human."

"Things change, Sweetie," Mara said. They looked up as just a minute later a shadow passed over them.

The Yuuzhan Vong drop ship looked like a thorny, spiked mollusk as Kale gently brought it down on the edge of the precarious platform where the civilians huddled. A hatch was still open from where Kale picked it up.

"Get them moving," Mara said. "I don't know how much time we have before they begin firing on this tower."

Her answer came almost immediately. Following the theft of the drop ship, Yuuzhan Vong forces immediately targeted the tower cluster. The civilians screamed in panic as they ran toward the ship. Fortunately the drop ship was designed to allow the fast egress of soldiers and war beasts. It proved wide enough for civilians to board quickly with a minimum of pushing.

The whole tower began to shake violently under the onslaught as the distant tops of towers shattered under the blow. "Get your men in now!" Mara shouted at the captain. He nodded, and his people crowded in after the civilians. Mara noted with a touch of pride how the soldiers would stop and assist the slower civilians and children.

Finally, the ship was loaded just as the first plasma ball struck the platform proper.

Mara flew off the platform and underneath the ship, where Kale held it upright with a look of grim determination. "Let's go," he said.

Mara nodded. "The civilians in the tower I caught had their own transport. I hope they make it out!"

"We can only do so much," Kale shouted back over the din of the enemy barrage. They both rose into the air as the atmosphere of Coruscant itself burned under the orbital barrage. "It looks like they've gained superiority in orbit."

Mara nodded. "Kale, Leia said they were regrouping at Alderaan."

Kale didn't respond and the two of them carried the drop ship into the outer atmosphere of the planet. As they did so, they both saw first-hand the effects of the battle.

If there had been sufficient air, both would have cursed.

Dozens of New Republic hulks burned with the remnants of internal atmosphere, even as some of the larger ships skimmed the atmosphere in decaying orbits. The debris field was so thick that it was impossible even for Vong ships to get through without bumping into the shattered remains of the New Republic fleet. They both saw a destroyed Golan-II defense platform floating at a crazy angle against the horizon of the planet, trailing debris. As they drew closer they could see it was split physically in two.

Coral skippers flew lazily through the stew of wreckage, patrolling for any surviving ships. With their bodies hidden underneath the Vong drop ship, neither Kale nor Mara attracted much attention as they flew out of the immediate war zone.

They found the last remnants of the fleet holding a rear-guard action just beyond the orbit of the second moon. A trio of New Republic cruisers held a pair of Vong destroyer analogues at bay while trying to leave a passage open for straggling transports.

Kale touched Mara's shoulder, pointed to himself, then at the Vong ships. He then motioned for her to take the drop ship. She nodded and placed her hands on the coral hull of the ship. In space, the only strength needed was to guide the inertia of its movements.

She watched as her husband accelerated to near light speed and slammed through the dovin-basil shielding of the nearest destroyer. He erupted from the far side and crippled the second destroyer. The 2000-meter-long destroyer analogue suddenly reared up as if pinched by a planet-sized giant, before it took on a completely unnatural spin that at first glance appeared to violate every law of physics known.

The swinging ship impacted cross-ways through the back of the first ship Kale pierced. Both exploded when their plasma feeds blew.

Rather than joining her, Kale flew toward the nearest cruiser and disappeared. She could feel his touch on her mind through the Force, though. He was telling the Republic forces not to fire on the drop ship. She shifted its passage and headed it toward the main hangar bay of the largest ship—a _Nebula_-class heavy cruiser.

Kale was waiting for her when she brought the ship into the hanger bay. Rather than try to pressurize the whole bay, clamping arms secured the odd-shaped ship and an airlock arm began to extent to the ship. Mara simply positioned herself into the back of the arm as it adhered to the uneven surface of the drop ship. There was no side hatch for the passengers to use, so as soon as the arm pressured, Mara lit her lightsaber and made one.

Soldiers were waiting on the other side of the coral hull. "We've made it to the NRFD forces," she explained. "Ship personnel are coming. Get your people out so we can dump the ship." She then turned and jogged toward the far airlock. It opened to reveal several more NRFD fleet marines, and Kale Naberrie.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, much to the embarrassment of the soldiers around. The two were old enough not to care. "We did some good, at least," she said when at last they parted.

"And we will be back," Kale promised. "I will die before I give up on our son."

Mara nodded her whole-hearted agreement. "Let's go talk to the captain," she said. "Based on what we saw, I doubt very many more transports are going to make it out."

* * *

sp

**Author's Responses**:

Thanks to Exodus, The-Knight2000; Manus Dei and Dajohu for your reviews. I really appreciate it.

Q: Now that is a suprise but I'm not sure that I like it.

A: The idea behind Mara's being remade into a Kryptonian was inspired by Superman II. In the movie, Superman became human so that he and Lois Lane could married as equals. Kale couldn't afford to lose his powers, and so in this case Mara was actually elevated, but the end goal of equality was the same. As to them dying or being depowered--I haven't reached the final chapters, though I'm getting there. So not even I know for sure who is going to die or not.

Q: you're not playing favorites with the Vong, which in my opinion were nothing more than some author's idea of a wanked up Mary Sue race in military affairs

A: I agree wholeheartedly. In this fic, the Vong win because of NRDF politics as much as by military force.

Q: Glad to see he's (Thrawn) playing a role in this fic.

A: Thrawn has a major role in this story.


	26. Fractured

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Fractured**

The Alderaanian Orbital Authority boasted one of the best safety records in the sector. They had not had a fatal accident since the Clone Wars.

That ended when a badly listing New Republic gunship emerged from hyperspace far too close to the planet. Almost from the moment it reverted to real-space, explosions rocked its flanks and it quickly lost all hint of control. Com chatter roared to a chaotic chorus of screams and shouted commands as the dying vessel clipped a bulky agricultural transport and began spinning out of control toward the atmosphere of the planet.

"Pull up!" the Authority controllers called.

They would never know that the pilot and command staff of the gunship died as the ship emerged from hyperspace when the motivator exploded and the whole computer core went with it. The gunship, already torn and rent from its battle at Coruscant, hit the atmosphere at a quarter sublight at a vertical angle and exploded. Fragments of the ship spread out like fireworks skidding along the outermost envelope of the atmosphere before falling down the well toward the surface.

On the heels of the doomed ship emerged hundreds, even thousands of others. Many were Jedi transports, but most were military or civilian. "Incoming vessels, this is Control. What is the meaning of this?"

Among the first of the ships to emerge from hyperspace was a famous old Corellian freighter. "Alderaan Control, this is Chancellor Leia Organa-Solo," Leia said, using her title only where applicable. "Coruscant has fallen to the Vong. Repeat: Coruscant has fallen to the Vong. The New Republic Defense Fleet is regrouping here for now, along with the Jedi Order. We have civilian refugees as well. Please contact Governor Celchu and advise her that we will need to make immediate arrangements."

"Alderaan Control acknowledges, Your Majesty."

In the cockpit of the _Falcon_, Han smiled over at his wife. "It's good to be the boss."

Leia nodded pensively. "Han, how bad is it?"

The General lost his smile. "For Traest to cave as quickly as he did—it's bad." Just then Jaina popped her head into the cockpit. "Karia's awake. For a girl with super powers she seems to get beaten to a pulp a lot."

"Super powers don't mean you can't lose," Han muttered. He brought the _Falcon_ down the well directly toward the glowing white and silver towers of the Organa palace. Leia's official residence outside the Jedi Temple looked as beautiful and immaculate as the last time they visited.

Han noted two distinctive figures waiting for them on the edge of the pad. He and Leia walked out of the cockpit and saw Karia sitting in the common area with Anakin by her side, one arm draped around her shoulders. A group of younglings sat around her, silently reaching out to touch her hand and provide what comfort they could.

Han and Anakin's eyes met briefly, and Han nodded before he followed his wife and daughter down the ramp.

Outside, Governor Winter Celchu and her husband Tycho stood waiting patiently. Winter's hair was just as white as always. Han noted that time had merely made the distinguished-looking woman appear even more beautiful and ageless. She did not have the age-lines of concern and responsibility that Leia did. Tycho also appeared younger than his years, for which Han envied him. He began wondering if he and Leia should have retired to Alderaan years ago.

"Leia!" Winter said as soon as they emerged. She rushed forward and wrapped her adopted sister in a hug. "By the Force, I wept for you," she said. "Little Jacen."

Han watched as Leia's carefully stoic Jedi Master exterior crumbled away in the arms of her long-time friend and confident. He merely nodded to Tycho, who knew both women needed the release. When at last the tears subsided, Leia took a deep, steadying breath. "Thank you," she said. "Winter, so much is happening. I'm bringing the whole Jedi Order with me. We need to house them in the palace for now."

"I'll make the arrangements," she said without hesitation.

"The fleet is regrouping in orbit," Han said. "The government is gone. I've been reactivated. Celchu, I wouldn't mind having you back in a uniform either. These kids running things don't know what they're doing."

"Of course," the former star pilot said. Like Han, Tycho was a former Imperial defector who went on to become one of the best pilots in the Rebel Alliance. "We'll alert the local militia control."

Just then Jaina and Anakin started down the ramp with a battered and bruised Karia Naberrie between them. The young woman already looked better than when she arrived, but still walked gingerly. The moment she was outside, though, she took a deep breath of the cold, mountain air and looked toward the yellow sun that was barely visible behind a thin layer of clouds.

She turned and said something to Anakin before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek, and then rose silently into the air until she disappeared into the cloud cover.

Han watched as Winter's jaw dropped. "Was that…."

"Karia Naberrie," Leia explained. "Kale's daughter."

For a brief instant, Han saw an echo of pain flash through Winter's icy blue eyes before she viciously stamped the emotion down. "She is very beautiful. But I've never seen a Kryptonian bruised like that. What happened?"

"You know what's happening with Jor-El?" Han asked.

Winter nodded.

"She tried to hold her brother off long enough for us to escape," Han explained.

"Got her butt kicked," Jaina added helpfully as she reached them.

"Her parents arrived and got her out," Leia said. "They stayed."

"So what's she doing?" Winter asked.

By then Anakin had joined them. "She's recharging. The yellow sun helps her heal. The lamps in the _Falcon_ helped, but the real thing is better."

Winter said nothing as she led Leia, Han and the many Jedi younglings toward the palace. Moments before they reached the ten-meter-high doors into the palace atrium, a flash of red streaked by them all before resolving into the now completely unblemished features of Karia Naberrie. Though her clothes were torn and dirty from her fight on Coruscant, otherwise there was no sign of her previous injuries.

Han watched with a wry grin as Winter turned to study the daughter of the man she wanted so much as a youth. Karia stared right back, before taking a step forward and without hesitation running a finger through Winter's long white tresses. "Wow, you're beautiful," she said. Proving beyond a doubt that she knew exactly who Winter was, she added, "Mom doesn't realize how lucky she was."

Han winced. It was the wrong thing to say. But somehow Karia said it in the only way she could have. Winter smiled briefly, then leaned over and hugged the girl. "I agree," she said. "Your mom doesn't know how lucky she has it, and not just because she got Kale. You, my dear, are stunning."

"I'll say," Anakin muttered.

Karia blushed and grinned at the same time. "Come," Winter said. "You must be hungry and tired. We'll have plenty to do soon enough. Eat first."

Karia's stomach rumbled so loud even the younglings in the back of the procession heard and started giggling.

"She's definitely Kale's girl," Han announced.

* * *

"Grand Admiral Thrawn," Pellaeon said as he stepped into the office aboard the _Chimera_. "Intelligence reports that the New Republic has lost Coruscant. Details are scarce, but evidently there was a successful assassination attempt on the elected government right before the attack."

Thrawn nodded. "They've retreated to Alderaan." It was not a question.

Gilead Pellaeon blinked, then chuckled. "Indeed. You knew they would follow Organa-Solo and her husband."

"In the absence of actual authority, authoritative figures will do," Thrawn said. "Organa-Solo led the New Republic for the two most successful terms in its history, and Solo was the only officer who actually mounted a credible defense against the Yuuzhan Vong prior to his resignation. If they had been in power, I have to believe that things might have gone differently for the New Republic."

Thrawn sighed with the only outward sign of exhaustion he had demonstrated since he emerged from his hidden empire to rejoin and even lead the military of the Empire. Pellaeon and Daala still remained in charge of the civilian government, which Thrawn agreed was best. However, Grand Admiral Pellaeon, when presented with some of Thrawn's strategies and tactics, gladly handed over nominal control of the Imperial Fleet.

Months later, the Empire was back to its previous borders and had ship yards replenishing those ships lost. The Vong had made no effort to encroach on Imperial space again. However, both men were very well aware that it was only a matter of time before the Vong did just that. Once the New Republic was conquered, that left only the Hapans and the Empire as credible threats. The Hapans had yet to fight, and the Empire had already bloodied the enemy's nose.

"I expect the Vong to consolidate their hold over Coruscant for at least two weeks. However, within two weeks to a month, they will move to destroy the remainder of the New Republic fleet."

"We're going to be there, I take it?" Pellaeon said.

"We are indeed, my friend," Thrawn said. "We are indeed. You see, I believe we had a deal with Mr. Naberrie."

* * *

Admiral Traest Kre'fey growled as the medical droid finished up the dermal glue. The lacerations over his eye burned away fur to expose the black skin below, and the vicious cut he suffered during their harrowing escape. They were the last New Republic ship to escape, as far as the Admiral knew.

Before him stood a figure that he should have been happy to see, and would have been happy to see, six months ago.

Kale Naberrie stood several centimeters taller than the Bothan, and even his wife stood tall for a human. The two stood near the admiral's table, waiting. There was no question that they saved a large number of civilians during the battle, but that large number of saved civilians was dwarfed by the number not saved. In the weighing of percentages, they made little to no difference in the war.

"I was under the impression you had agreed to help against the Vong," Traest finally said. He still spoke in a growl. His anger was not easily assuaged. "If you had honored your word, this last battle would never have happened."

Mara opened her mouth to argue, but Kale put a hand on her arm. Traest did not know Mara well, but he knew she had a reputation of being very strong-willed. Only one person was able, as far as he knew, to still her anger.

Her husband.

"I had another promise to keep," Kale said. "I won't apologize for saving my wife."

"As a sentient being, I understand loving one's mate," Traest said. "But as an officer of the New Republic, I have a greater duty to the people I serve."

"I am not an officer of the New Republic," Kale said. He lifted his chin. "And nothing will ever come before my duties as a husband."

"Then you are a selfish son of a _narful_," Traest said. "Billions died! Billions, you arrogant fool! Are the lives of all those husbands and wives and mates worth any less than yours? You let them all die!"

"Admiral," the droid admonished. "You are about to rupture your lacerations again. Please calm yourself."

Speakers overhead chimed. "Ten minutes from Alderaan."

Kre'fey growled to himself in his native Bothan. "I wash my hands of it," the admiral said. "In a burst of stupidity I reactivated General Solo. He was supposedly your friend once, before your son murdered his. I'll let him handle you."

Mara's cheeks flared. "We aren't going to be handled."

"And that's why you're standing there mad at me while billions of innocent people are dead or dying under the Vong," Traest said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I understand there is a somewhat large piece of shrapnel the droids wish to remove from my executive officer."

Kale took Mara's hand, and led her from the heavily crowded sick bay. Hundreds of eyes followed them, belonging to Bothans and New Republic human officers who heard the entire exchange.

They emerged into the hall beyond, and Mara took a deep breath. "They're mad at me because I'm alive," she said in disbelief.

"They're mad because so many others aren't," Kale corrected. He looked at her and smiled sadly. "Everything has a consequence, Mara. I knew that there would be a consequence to abandoning the New Republic during the civil war, and I knew there would be a consequence to abandoning it this time to save you. But I also knew, even if no one else did, that I could never fight without you. That I couldn't even live without you." He pulled her hand to his lips and stared into her eyes. They were different since the procedure; brighter. Like his. "I love you."

She blinked back a tear, not just at his dedication, but also at the sheer hostility in the ship directed at her. At the two of them. "They hate us so much. And we're going to fight for them."

"We're going to fight for them," Kale agreed. "And for our children. For Karia. And for Jor."

"He hated us," she said. "I could feel his hatred."

"That's not really him," Kale assured her. "Brainiac and the Vong did something. Remember what the Emperor did to Leia? This is the same thing. He's buried under that hatred somewhere, we just have to find him again. And we will."

Minutes later, they reverted to real space over Alderaan. Through port windows the couple could see the bloodied remnants of the New Republic Fleet. Unconsciously, Mara's hand sought Kale's. "Is it already too late?" she whispered.

"I hope not."

"What's Leia going to say?"

Kale closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. He could feel his cousin on the planet below. Her fear and exhaustion were clear, as was her pain. "I don't want to wait for a transport," he said. "We need to speak to her now."

Mara nodded mutely and the two of them moved through the ship until they reached the dock. Already wounded were being transferred onto transports. "We don't have room for any passengers," one of the Bothan officers said when he saw Kale and Mara emerge.

The two shrugged in response, lifted off the deck of the ship, and soared through the containment field into the open space of orbit. They zoomed through space and literally punched their way through the atmosphere, homing in on where Kale felt Leia and Karia to be in the Force.

They landed on the edge of the platform that still held the _Falcon_. Through the Force both could feel the crowd of Jedi within the Palace. "It was smart of Leia to bring them here," Kale said.

"For now," Mara said. "The Vong are not that far behind."

Kale nodded absently and they started to walk toward the large doors of the Organa Palace. "This isn't going to be fun," Kale said softly.

His wife could only nod her agreement.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Jedi Knight Ganner Rhysode whispered.

"Yeah, you're not all that bright, are you?" Kyle Katarn said with a straight face.

"You stayed too!"

"Yeah, but I'm not all that bright either, and you knew that."

The younger Jedi chuckled. "Of course, Master."

"Haven't been your master in years, you whelp," Kyle said.

The two Jedi walked with perhaps two dozen straggling NRDF soldiers in one of the many dark tunnels that criss-crossed the planet. "Master, why are we here again?"

"Officially, we're staying to aid the civilians as much as possible to survive the Vong occupation while trying to sabotage the enemy. Unofficially, I'm looking for Jan."

"You think she's still alive?"

"I know she is. And I think she's here."

Ganner merely nodded. "You've done this before, right? During the Civil War?"

Kyle nodded at the memory. "Yeah, Jan and I led the infiltration force that set up Operation Freedom's Hammer. We had a good time. Murder, assassinations, mutated giant rancors. Good memories."

Rhysode shuddered. Softly, he added, "We'll find her, Kyle. Jan is one of the smartest, most frighteningly competent women I've ever met. If anyone could survive, it'll be her."

"We're coming up on our rendezvous point," the captain and ranking officer of the NRDF squad said.

Around the corner came a familiar face to Katarn. "Talon Karrde! The Vong'll let anybody in nowadays, won't they?"

Surrounded by fifty of the meanest-looking mercenaries, including at least ten Mandalorians, stood the smuggler extraordinaire and shipping magnet. "Obviously," Karrde responded with a tight grin. "They let you stay, after all."

The two men shared a friendly grip. "Do you have transport?" Kyle asked.

"It'll be tight, but we could get off planet if we needed to," Karrde said. "You've met Boba Fett, haven't you?"

Kyle turned to the armored Mandalorian and nodded. "I've not met him personally, but his reputation precedes him. Are you a friend today, Boba Fett?"

"Let's leave it at business acquaintance," the bounty hunter snarled.

"It's usually cleaner that way," Katarn admitted. "We're here to try and pick up the pieces, save as many civilians as we can, mount as credible a defense as possible, and in general be a pain in the Vong's collective arses. All involved will be compensated by either the Jedi Order or the New Republic, whichever has assets available. Is this arrangement satisfactory?"

Fett looked over his shoulder at the bounty hunters, and then nodded. "It'll work."

"Okay then," Kyle said. "Ganner here has already been scouting out possible targets. We are going to be very busy."

* * *

sp

**Author's Responses**

**Roosterman71**: Thanks, I appreciate you reading and dropping a note.

**Exodus5**--He had to make a difficult decision to stop his son, or save thousands of innocent lives. In his defense--Jor was not in immediate danger of dying. Against him--Jor remains as a potent threat.

**The-Knight2000**--Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

**dajohu**--Buddy! Thrawn is definitely important. Brainiac is definitely not going anywhere.


	27. Tons of Emotions

Author's Responses at the end.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Tons of Emotion**

Danni Quee was going to die.

She should have died during the assault on Coruscant. She, like tens of thousands of others, were packed naked into transparent bubbles at the fore of every attacking Yuuzhan Vong ship. They were human shields caused to make the defenders hesitate.

The tactic worked up to a point. However, from her position against the biological shell that stood between her and the certainty of death, she could see identical shells exploding and the bodies of the innocents within blown out into the vacuum when New Republic forces finally started fighting back.

It was too little, too late.

She felt nappy fur against her back and buttocks and the poor Wookiee shoved beside her growled in frustration, along with others, as their capital planet was bombarded. She could see whole districts disappear under the mushroom clouds of massive explosions. The NRDF headquarters building, visible from space with its distinctive flame–shaped architecture, was among the first targets hits.

Danni had no more tears left to cry, and so watched everything with dry eyes and shallow breaths.

The ship burned down through the atmosphere, and when the plasma from their reentry passed and she could see the surface, she heard more around her cry out. The planet-wide city was in terrible shape. Whole blocks of towers were collapsed down into the deepest levels like gashes on the planetary skin. Fire welled up all over the place like billows of blood. Coruscant was dying.

The ship landed atop one of the broad stretches of solid roofing in a manufacturing area, and the Vong forces spilled out in a rush for blood and death. Danni and the others were simply left there.

The battle raged all day, and the slaves stayed where they were, smashed together almost to the point of suffocation, with no water and no food.

Danni stared out into the night, and continued to stare out into the following morning, waiting. She felt a cold hand on her inner thigh and looked down. The woman below her was pale and starting to bloat. Others had died as well.

Danni was beyond horror. So much death and pain. She simply stared back out the window.

In the evening of their second day on Coruscant, the Yuuzhan Vong came for them. The back hatch dilated open to expose twenty of the Chazrach soldiers and two Vong warriors. They stepped back with obvious expressions of disgust as bodies fell out of the blister.

Danni, because of her position against the outer layer, did not fall in. She did, however, take a deep breath as the push of bodies against her faded. She looked around as perhaps half the others moved. The remainder were either dead, or, looking at the expressions of their keepers, soon to be dead.

Among the warriors and Chazrach, a new figure appeared. Danni looked dully at the female. She was unlike any Vong she had ever seen. She had the disfiguring scars and skin tattooing of other Vong, but the exposed arms were free of spikes or other grafted additions. Her hair hung in a loose, unadorned curtain around her neck. If not for the scars and the strangely skeletal nose common to all Vong, she could even have been pretty.

The newcomer pointed at Danni and hissed. At that moment, Danni wished she were not as smart as she was. She wished she had not learned the Vong language while working under Jan Ors.

The female Vong said, "That female is the one we seek. You shall give her to me. The rest are to be sacrificed to the glory of the gods and the Supreme Overlord."

Three Chazrach clambered over the pile of unwashed bodies until they reached Danni. She lacked the strength or will to resist and allowed the three of them to pull her out of the blister. They stopped her before the Vong female.

The old Danni, the one from before weeks—even months—of captivity, would have stood proudly. The new one had not eaten in five days and had no water in two. Her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground, naked and coated in filth.

"Bring her," the female said with a sneer. "I searched too long for her. She cannot serve my purposes in this condition."

Danni tried to keep her eyes open, but it was difficult. They did open briefly when she heard harsh laughter and weak screams behind her, but even that horrid sound was not enough to keep her consciousness tied to her mind.

When she came to sometime later, it was to a feeling of such wonderful, blissful warmth that she wept. The warmth was gentle and soothing. It was peaceful. _Was she dead_?

The thought carried no fear or hesitation. In fact, she realized sadly, she hoped it was true. After everything she had seen, she wanted to be dead.

Alas, the peace was interrupted by the sound of harsh, guttural voices. Vong words seeped like poison into her mind, corrupting her peace. "She is not worth the effort to revive."

"Our efforts of culminating Qahsel's seed have failed. As have my attempts to conceive a child."

"Perhaps you are not well suited to this task."

"I live at your will, Warmaster. I die by your will."

"You would say more?"

"The creature Naberrie mated with a human and produced two offspring genetically equal to him," she said. "I believe the mating was successful because the human was Jeedaai."

Danni's eyes cracked open. She felt something enveloping her body. It was warm and thick, almost like a gelatinous bacta treatment. From beyond the edge of the tank where they kept her, she saw the female who retrieved her standing with her head bowed, while beside her stood a towering Yuuzhan Vong warrior with more scars and disfigurements than she had ever seen. This was the legendary Warmaster Tsavong Lah, she had no doubt.

"This _thing_," he said with a nod to Danni, "it is Jeedai?"

"It could be," the female said without raising her head. "It has the same genetic markers as other Jedi we have studied. She is untrained. But we learned while mapping the new memories to Qahsel that he had feelings for this one. Hence my need to find her. Those feelings and her power might be sufficient to harvest fertilized eggs."

"Rip out her ovaries and grow them," Tsavong said. "Fertilize them there."

Danni should have felt fear—she was too tired. Death would have been welcome.

"Forgive me, honored Warmaster," the female said as she fell to her knees. "I will do as you order and die in punishment, since to do so will fail."

The warmaster stared down at her with a look of incredulity. "You dare question me?"

"I will do as you ask, but to do so will fail in your goal," she said. "I live only to serve you."

"The slave is right," another voice said. Tsavong turned and Danni watched as yet a third Vong arrived. This one's arms were not arms, they were appendages grown for a specific task. It was abhorrent. "I have overseen her efforts, Honored Warmaster. It appears for the fertilization to work, there must be _intent_."

"Explain?"

"The infidels have a word foreign to us. It describes a physiological and psychological bond they form. _Love._" The master shaper—for that's what Danni assumed he was—frowned at the word. "This creates the intent to form new life. Qahsel must love his woman to produce offspring with her. That is why we have this woman. She will love him, and we shall harvest her fertilized eggs and create the ultimate weapon."

Tsavong turned back to Danni. "You shall make of her what you will," he said. "Make her worthy of Qahsel. Make her live to service and please him. I have presented him before Supreme Overlord Shimmra, who was pleased. We are all elevated by Qahsel's successes. We will all be shortened by his failures. Do what you must, but do not fail."

The Warmaster turned and left. "You shall shape her, child," the master shaper said. "Do this, and when we achieve our goals, you too will be elevated back to your proper station and more."

The female bowed at the waist and remained in that position until the master shaper was gone.

Only when they were alone did she straighten. She turned and stared long and hard at Danni. "He loves you," she said. "I have given myself to him, but I am nothing to him. He has become too much Vong to love me. But you…you shall love him, Danni Quee. You shall couple with him and give him children. And when the Kryptonians number more, your offspring will be revealed as the gods they are."

The Vong smiled softly. "And I shall be the first to worship you."

Danni tried to speak. At first, nothing came out, but after two tries she was able to voice a question. "Who is Qahsel?"

If the female was surprised that Danni could speak Vong, she hid it. "Qahsel is a god," the creature answered. "I was not sure before, but now I am. I serve him as my master. He does not realize this—he is a young god and does not realize what he needs. But I know. He needs his mortal paramour. And I shall be elevated in his service by bringing you to him. And with his seed, we shall fill the Eighth Cortex and rule supreme. Sleep now, and recover."

As if the female's voice was a command, Danni's eyes closed and she slipped back into sleep.

* * *

"I feel like I've travelled back in time," Leia said with an exhausted sigh. "We've organized a Security Council just like out of the Rebellion."

Beside her, Han took her shoulders in his arm and pulled her head to rest against his chest. "Yeah, it's old fashioned, but it's working."

After almost a week at Alderaan, the New Republic remnant had a semblance of leadership again, in the form of a Security Council. The council consisted of Han, Leia, Traest Kre'fey, Wedge Antilles and a retired Ithorian sector senator who just happened to be on Alderaan. He was the sole civilian representative.

Six hours arguing with Kale failed to get him on the council. "I am not a political leader," he said stubbornly. "And we've all seen what people think of me. I'll help you, Leia. I have to—I realize that now. But you can't ask me to be a government leader. That's not a role I'm willing to accept."

Thinking of Kale did not make Leia angry. It made her deeply, terribly sad. The Naberries arrived just two days after Leia and Han, due to repairs on Kre'fey's ship. She could not meet them when they landed since she was hip-deep in trying to pull something recognizable as a leadership out of the mess that was left of the New Republic.

She was arguing with Fleet captains and self-appointed leaders from the refugee fleets when she looked up and saw him there. She caught a flash of red hair over his shoulder, and then Mara was there as well.

Leia let the holonet calls end and stared at the woman who was once her worst enemy, and then later one of her best friends.

Mara looked different. In a way, she looked more like Mara than she had before. The normal imperfections of skin that came with age—the spots and bumps—all were gone. Her skin was the color of sandy cream and perfectly unblemished. Her green eyes were a more brilliant shade than Leia ever remembered. Standing next to Kale, Leia realized they had the same inhuman intensity Kale's eyes did.

She had all the beauty of a goddess beside her god.

"Did you get him?" Leia asked.

The heavenly countenances darkened. "There was another there," Kale said. "The one who took him in the first place. It is a Kryptonian artificial intelligence called Brainiac. It still serves Zod, even after all these years. Jor got away from us."

Leia's eyes traveled to Mara's face. Beautiful, perfect. The brilliant emeralds were suddenly hazy. Was Mara about to cry? The moment passed quickly.

The two sat at Leia's invitation. "We're trying to rebuild something," she said. "We're going to need help."

"We'll help," Kale said. "Leia, is Karia all right?"

"She's at the palace with Winter."

"Winter?" Kale asked.

Mara elbowed him. For a second, they were three friends reminiscing. The moment passed all too quickly.

"We can't do this without you," Leia finally said. "We need you both. Three of you, I guess. You're legends. Just knowing you are here will help people."

She watched as Kale's expression fell. "Leia, we did everything we could to save people on Coruscant. It made so little difference…" Through the Force, she could feel his pain and guilt. "I felt useless."

That was three days ago.

Now, a week since Coruscant, this was the first time she and Han were able to sit and rest. One whole week, and this was the first time they had even looked at a bed. Their exhaustion was beyond physical. They were as emotionally and intellectually drained as they were physically tired. There was a limit to what stims and caf could do.

"Han," Leia whispered, "I don't think we're going to survive this."

If she was looking for optimism, she picked the wrong time to ask. "No," he said, "we aren't."

"What are we doing to do?"

"Die fighting," Han said darkly. "We had a chance against these things. And we blew it when our leaders made political decisions instead of military ones. That was our one, best hope. It's gone now."

The two sat in silence. "There is no emotion," Leia whispered. "There is only peace."

"There _is_ emotion," Han said. "There's kriffin tons of emotion. If I thought it'd do any good I'd rip the bastards apart by hand. But I'm not Kale. I'm just plain old Han."

"Plain old Han, who's tired," Leia said. "Let's go to bed."

He agreed with a mute nod, and ten minutes later the Solos were sound asleep. Three hours later, they were woken up by the sound of shrill alarms.

Han sat up with a gasp. "Wha…what's going on?"

"How should I know?" Leia groaned.

"You're the Jedi!"

Their door opened and Wedge Antilles ran in. "We're under attack."

"Figures," Han muttered darkly.

The newly re-appointed Supreme Commander rushed into the hastily erected command center in the palace with his wife by his side. Around the room haggard and exhausted-looking fleet personnel were trying to piece together what was happening.

"We have confirmation, Vong forces have encroached the system, five hundred thousand K out and closing," Han heard one of the techs announce.

Han turned to his second. Wedge nodded. He was already pulling on a flight suit. "I know, I'm heading up."

"Alright, listen up!" Han said. "We're running out of places to hide, so we need to make this battle work. I want theatre holograms up now. I want a list of all viable assets in orbit and on the ground. General Leery, are you with me?"

A voice came over the room's com. "Just woke up, Commander."

"How are we on ground defense?"

"Not much further than we were three hours ago, General. But our people have found new motivation."

"I bet."

Just then Kale and Mara arrived. The two just stared as the central holographic representation of the Alderaan System came on line. Mara's practiced eyes easily traced the enemy ships. "Hundred and fifty capital ships," she said.

"We have eight-two battle-ready," Han said in answer to her comment.

"Commander!" another tech called. "We have incoming ships. They're landing forces."

Han started to speak when Kale turned to Mara. "You and Karia handle the ground?"

Mara nodded. "I'll go get her."

Kale turned back to Han. "General, my wife and daughter will assist your ground forces. Please inform Admiral Kre'fey that I will be joining him in orbit shortly."

Han opened his mouth to answer, but Kale was already gone. "Yeah, I'll do that," the commander said. He turned to Mara. "You up for ground combat?"

She stared back at him, and then grinned. "Would you like me to kick you again so you're sure?"

The old commander winced, and then grinned back. "Not today, Mara. Go, let me know if you need anything."

* * *

One hundred and fifty vicious, powerful beasts dropped onto the edge of the planetary system. Like wolves among sheep, the Vong fleet scattered amidst the surprised New Republic forces and the many civilian ships in orbit, and began destroying everything around them.

To their credit, the flagging NRDF ships quickly staged a defense, but it was difficult to maneuver through the flocks of terrified civilian ships seeking shelter from the inferno of death.

Admiral Kre'fey was just stumbling onto his bridge when the _Ralroost_ opened fire on a small frigate-analogue that was busy pounding a transport ship to atoms. "Status?"

"Command is sending tactical to us now," his temporary XO remarked. "Doesn't look good. One hundred fifty enemy ships."

Communications bent low as the ship shuddered with the power of its own weapons. "Admiral," the Bothan officer said, "Command also indicates that…."

The frigate analogue in front of them suddenly, and in apparent violation of all known laws of physics, reared up away from his target, swung like the hand of a giant analogue chronometer, and slammed into the spine of another nearby Vong ship.

"…Jedi Master Naberrie will be assisting our forces," the communications officer finished lamely.

Kre'fey nodded. "Very good. Ask if Master Naberrie has a com, and get the code if so. I want to be able to talk to him."

On the planet below, mother and daughter stood side by side as the NRDF army and the Alderaanian militia did their best to form up a secure defensive perimeter around Aldera City.

"Are you nervous?" Mara asked.

Karia shrugged. "Mother, this isn't my first time in combat. You were gone a long time."

Mara frowned and nodded. "I know. I'm sorry."

The younger Naberrie looked at her mother, smiled and kissed her cheek. "I'm not. You have no idea how long I've dreamed of the two of us flying together. Of the four of us…" She stopped. "Do you think Jor will be here?"

"I don't know," Mara admitted. "Part of me hopes so, and part of me is terrified he will be."

Karia nodded with complete understanding. Overhead the air boomed with the sound of supersonic ships dropping down from orbit. "So should we wait for them to get on the ground, or attack in the air?" Karia said.

"Never let the enemy get settled," Mara said resolutely.

The two Naberrie women burst into the air and left the NRDF personnel around them blinking.

* * *

"Well look at that," Han muttered. Just then Leia arrived in the command center.

"I have Jedi disbursed with the army units around the city," she reported.

He nodded and pointed to the screen. "Looks like having Kryptonians on your side really can make a difference."

"Really?"

"He's taken out ten ships single-handedly," the Supreme Commander said. "You know, we might be able to survive this."

"Commander, a world ship has just dropped from orbit!"

Han's grin died. "Okay, now, I was joking!" he said to the universe at large.

In orbit, Kale finished with the destroyer-analogue he was working on when he felt the displacement of the Force. He looked and saw the horizon blocked by a massive disk. Immediately, thousands of plasma balls started falling across the battlefield.

"Damn," he muttered within his small shell of air he maintained for the purpose of speaking. "Admiral, you still there?"

"At the moment."

"I'm going to start working on the Worldship. I'll do my best, but those things are tough."

"Understood. Good luck."

* * *

sp

**Author's Responses **

First, I'd like to thank Barricade, dajohu; wawaboy2; Manus Dei, prudiisten and Crytyk for reading and reviewing. Good to have one or two more reviews than normal.

There was only one question: Did Jor rape Karia. The answer is no, he didn't rape his sister.

Thanks again for reading, folks, and especially for the reviews. I greatly appreciate it!


	28. The Battle of Alderaan

Author's responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Battle of Alderaan**

"Owe!"

"Karia, are you okay?" Mara asked.

"Those plasma balls can sting," the youngest Naberrie admitted.

"Then stop playing ball with them and just use your fists." To illustrate her point, Mara swung an arm and punched a Vong transport. The hundred-meter transport reared back like an animal from fire. The strange creatures that made up its drive shuddered. Some even came free under the impact, and the whole ship started tumbling toward the surface.

"I'm not quite that strong," Karia said. She saw her own transport and instead of just hitting it, she flew up, and then shot down feet-first until she kicked the nose of the transport and sent it tumbling tip over end toward the ground. It struck the planet surface a dozen kilometers outside Aldera with a rumbling crash.

"That's better," Mara said. "How many is that?"

"I've taken out ten."

Mara smiled. "Sweetie, I've only had these powers for a while, and I've already done twenty. Come on, you can do better."

"Now you're just showing off!" Karia accused her mom.

"Maybe."

Another plasma ball struck Karia in the stomach, followed by a storm of five more. "Karia!" Mara screamed as her daughter tumbled to the ground below. She landed in the middle of a formation of Chazrach.

"Damn!" Mara said. She ignored the remaining ships and zoomed out of the air.

Two of the Chazrach were in the process of trying to impale Karia when Mara slammed to the ground with rock-cracking force and threw them away. Instantly the other Chazrach and their Vong handlers attacked.

She gripped the soil with the Force and lifted it into a tight wall to buy enough time to grab her daughter and dart back into the sky. She ignored the landing ships and flew to the nearest NRDF lines.

She landed behind the hastily constructed fortifications amid the terrified New Republic soldiers and let her daughter lay on the ground. "Karia!" she said.

"Mom," Karia whispered, her eyes closed.

"Yes."

"Am I naked?"

Mara only then noticed that the fabric of her armor and uniform had been completely burned away. Her skin looked red and irritated from the heat, but she was otherwise unharmed, and completely nude save for her melted boots.

"I'm afraid you are."

Her cheeks blushed a bright red. "I never believed you when you said it happened to dad all the time. Is anyone looking at me?"

Mara looked up and saw that indeed quite a few of the younger humanoid soldiers were looking. She glared and let her eyes take on an angry red glow, and they quickly looked away. "Not any more," she said. "Come on, I'll take you back to the palace for some clothes."

She needn't have bothered. Anakin Solo suddenly stood there. He caught a very brief glimpse of Karia, turned a shade redder than the young Kryptonian, then politely looked away as he handed over a woman-sized jumpsuit and armor. "Thought you might need this," he said.

"Very thoughtful."

"Actually it was mom. She said it used to happen to Uncle Kale all the time."

Karia giggled as she pulled the jumpsuit and armor on. "I'm okay, Mom. Go ahead, I'll be back in a jiffy."

Mara nodded and disappeared in a flash. Anakin helped her strap the armor on. She watched him with her brilliant blue eyes. "You saw me."

He looked down at his toes and turned an interesting shade of red. "Yeah." Then he smiled and looked her right in the eyes. "Like I always thought. You're beautiful."

"Should I rip all your clothes off so we're even?"

"Not here," Anakin said.

Karia flushed red and leaned over until their lips met. "Someday," she whispered into his ear.

"Someday," he agreed with a happy grin. He watched as she disappeared into the sky, then strolled over to the battlements to take his place with the soldiers. He saw several of them staring at him.

"What, you've never seen a guy with a super-powered girlfriend who looks like a goddess before?"

Some of them grinned and looked away. Others just looked jealous.

* * *

Han tried to hide his despair as another of the Republic's heavy cruisers buckled under the spine-breaking assault of the world ship.

Kale was good to his word and was doing what damage he could. The ship was so massive that he wasn't trying to destroy it; he was taking out individual plasma cannons as fast as he could. But even moving as fast as he did, there were thousands of guns firing, and the fleet was suffering for it.

"General Solo!" one of the coordinators called, "we have new ships emerging from hyperspace."

"Now fate's just being mean," he muttered. "How many?"

"Fifty. Star Destroyers, all of them, carrying the Imperial Remnant Beacon."

"What?" Han sat up, his jaw gaping.

Nearby, Leia looked up from the boards she was manning to help coordinate the ground forces. "Imperial?" she said.

"Patch me through!"

"You're on, General!"

"This is Han Solo, acting Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Forces to incoming Imperial ships. State your intent!"

The holoprojector in the center of the tactical display blinked and showed a blue-skinned man with disturbing red eyes. "General Solo. I am glad to see the New Republic came to their senses. Or, more precisely, that they all died to make way for more competent officers. My name is Grand Admiral Thrawn of His Imperial Majesty's Fleet. We have for the moment eliminated the Vong threat in our space and it is my belief that assisting you to do the same would be mutually beneficial. Therefore I offer this small fleet to assist you."

"What is the price?"

"An audience with Master Kale Naberrie when we are done," Thrawn said.

Han glanced across to his wife, who looked profoundly disturbed by this. However, Han saw no alternative. The remains of his fleet were being obliterated. "Deal," he finally said. "Admiral, we'll take any help we can get."

"Very well. If you would be so good as to relay our communications to Master Naberrie, we will deal with the worldship first."

"Will do. Solo out." The image of the Imperial grand admiral faded. "Huh," he said. "Take that, fate!"

In orbit, Kale both saw and sensed the incoming fleet. They emerged in a spear-shaped formation pointed directly at the horizontal surface of the worldship. As they quickly came into range, the worldship diverted its fire from the Republic to the new threat.

The new threat responded not just with fire, but with some of the most intense interdiction fields Kale had ever felt. He actually had to exert some effort to break free from the fields. As he did so, he noted that the dovin basils that covered the massive ship seemed to be having what he could only describe as convulsions.

Suddenly, every Imperial shot got through. His earpiece pinged. "Master Naberrie," a familiar voice said, "we are about to deploy some rather high yield weaponry. Feel free to respond however you feel appropriate."

Kale saw a veritable barrage of missiles, each as large as a starfighter, emerge from the phalanx of destroyers. He remembered the explosion from Helska quite well and chose retreat over stupidity.

He thanked his foresight in creating a Force-bubble of air to speak with. "Kre'fey, did you hear that?"

"I did. I've already ordered all ships to back off. The civilians have managed to get out of the combat theatre."

He felt the flash behind him and turned to watch the strangely satisfying sight of fifty planetary shield-busting, hypermatter-enhanced nuclear warheads slam into the essentially unshielded worldship.

It was a testament to the size of the ship that the first volley did not completely destroy it, though he did see several arms break away. However, a second barrage of missiles finished the task. It was only after the light flash faded that Kale saw something that cut his joy off.

Near-continent-sized pieces of the ship were falling toward the surface of the planet. "Kre'fey!" Kale yelled.

"We'll do our best." The admiral did not sound optimistic.

Kale shot off at the speed of light. The first piece he encountered was ten kilometers long. He sped under it and slammed into the shattered surface with enough force to shoot it away from the encroaching planetary horizon, but not hard enough to break it.

He shot off toward another. He did not try to throw them into a safe orbit; his immediate goal was simply to stop them from impacting the surface. Behind him, both Imperial and New Republic ships tried to swoop in, only to be intercepted by the still significant number of Vong ships in orbit.

With a sinking heart, Kale realized he was alone. Or was he?

He reached out with the Force and felt the women in his life respond without hesitation. One large piece was already flaring red as it skipped the surface. He let it go and moved on to the next large piece in orbit.

* * *

Karia rejoined her mother in the battle against the incoming transports. Because of the number of troops on the ground, they had adopted one of Kale's early tactics of using ships as weapons. Working together, the two snagged transports and brought them down horizontally right on top of the enemy troop formations, making quick work of a large number of the enemy before they even reached the NRDF lines.

Suddenly they felt the call in the Force and looked up to an amazing sight.

The sky was dominated by an explosion which stretched from the horizon almost to the meridian. "By the Force," Karia whispered.

"The Worldship!" Mara said. She turned to Karia. "We've got to get up there." She touched her earpiece. "Leia!"

Karia heard her aunt's voice. "We know! Kale's calling for help to control the worst of the debris. We're going to be using atmospheric craft and turbolasers too, but we have no defense against the larger pieces."

"Okay, we're on our way there," Mara said. "Let the lines know they're on their own."

"I will. Force be with you!"

With a last look at each other, mother and daughter shot into the sky.

* * *

Although he did not see it himself, Kale could feel Mara and Karia responding. To those watching the battle from afar, it seemed as if a two-kilometer long piece of debris simply came to a stop at the edge of the atmosphere and then shot back up.

Kale grinned to himself and continued to capture what pieces he could in the higher orbit, but it felt good knowing Mara and Karia continued to work below. More ships fell into a screen below them to vaporize what pieces got through, which allowed the Kryptonians to concentrate on the truly large pieces.

Such as the 42-kilometer-wide piece of the central hull that was coming directly at Kale.

He caught it with both hands and strained with every ounce of power he had. He could feel the piece slowing, but knew that with the power of momentum behind it he would not be able to stop it in time.

Suddenly Mara and Kara were there, a hundred meters to either side. Both of them strained with everything they had as well, and slowly the debris stopped falling.

"Admirals, where is the largest concentration of remaining Vong activity?" Kale asked.

Admiral Kre'fey answered immediately. "A hundred thousand klicks orbital northeast from your position," he said. "I'll guide you. Turn the debris twenty-three degrees to your left and ten degrees up."

Kale nodded and with the help of his wife and daughter they began pushing the largest piece of debris up. Kre'fey continued his directions, guiding them to the largest pocket of offensive action. Both Kre'fey and Thrawn, realizing what he was doing, positioned their ships around the huge piece of debris.

The Vong had no choice but to fire on the fragment of the worldship. The hull fragment was so thick it absorbed the fire easily. It was likely in fact that Vong were still very much alive within. The Vong formation finally had to break ranks as Kale and his ladies pushed the fragment directly at them.

Once their formation was broken, the Imperial interdictors attacked the larger Vong ships, weakening their organic shields sufficiently for the combined New Republic and Imperial ships to open an overwhelming barrage.

With the worse of the debris contained, Kale, Mara and Karia hovered back and watched as the Vong attack on Alderaan faltered, and then collapsed under the combined firepower of both the New Republic and Imperial forces.

On the surface, Anakin stood atop the defensive line along with a dozen or so other Jedi, including Masters Cairnwick and Horn. Although Karia and Mara were able to knock down over half the incoming transports, the other half were able to disgorge a massive landing force of several thousand Vong and Chazrach, along with their organic machines.

Overhead, Civil War-era speeders flashed by, lashing the enemy formations with laser cannon fire. The Vong did not have a chance to get any coralskippers into the atmosphere, and so were ill-prepared.

Still, they came, and the NRDF lines opened fire with everything they had to slow the onslaught. It was an actual Vong warrior that breached the wall first. Before Anakin could jump into battle, Master Horn deftly removed the creature's amphistaff by way of removing its wrist, and then slipped his sword into an unarmored armpit.

Anakin had his chance to fight, however, very shortly after, as dozens more Vong warriors breached the lines. Anakin sank into the Force. Though he could not sense the Vong or their creatures in the Force, he let it guide his reflexes and strengthen his muscles. Young or not, he fought with the strength of two adult men. His Vong opponent was clearly surprised by this, and Anakin took advantage of the surprise and removed the creature's head.

Others came, and he fought on.

He felt through the Force Master Horn's warning to retreat. He looked around and saw the soldiers were retreating to their second defensive line. Then he saw why. A twenty-meter-tall Vong rakamat lumbered toward the wall while spouting huge balls of plasma that battered the defenses down just a few hundred meters away.

Speeders honed in on the huge beast, but in a play of his vision, Anakin watched the beast seem to elongate as the dovin basils aboard formed a microsingularity that easily absorbed the blasts.

He had an idea. "Captain!" he called to the nearest NRFD officer overseeing the retreat. "Do we have any explosives?"

The captain glanced at the young Jedi and pointed to a stack of boxes at the base of the broken wall. Anakin ignored the retreating soldiers and Jedi and jumped down to tear through the boxes. He saw a few thermal detonators, but that's not what he wanted. He needed something with a directed high yield, like that anti-tank mine right there!

He grabbed the mine and a manual trigger and ran back up the wall. "Anakin, what are you doing!" Horn demanded.

"I have an idea!" Anakin called over his shoulder. Over the wall, Chazrach and Vong warriors were at the base of the wall and ascending quickly. The breech a few meters away already had the enemy pouring in.

Anakin ignored them all and ran toward where the rakamat was closing in on the broken wall. He gathered the Force about him and launched himself into the air, easily clearing the top of the six-legged beast. Not being a weapon, he passed through the shields without challenge, and found himself alone, since the Chazrach had already dismounted for the fight.

He ignored the dovin basils around him and ran across the bumpy back of the creature until he reached its neck. He used his lightsaber to nick a small hole in the thick neck, knowing anything else would simply absorb the blade. However, it was enough to anchor the mine upside down against the neck.

He looked down and saw that Chazrach were scrambling back up the sides of the beast. They must have realized what he was doing. With one last grin, he ran forward and shot himself into the air even as he pressed the trigger.

The mine directed a huge blast sufficient enough to penetrate even AT-AT armor directly into the unshielded neck of the rakamat. The explosion sent the massive reptilian head falling into the killing field between the NRDF fortifications while the beast itself toppled over onto its side.

Anakin fell right toward a waiting circle of Vong warriors.

Suddenly he stopped falling and started flying. He felt impossibly strong arms wrap around him, and felt lips against his ear. "Were you trying to be a hero?"

Anakin spun around in Karia's arms and kissed those lips soundly. "It's a Solo thing," he assured her.

"And saving you Solos is a Naberrie thing, it appears," Karia said. She then stopped, as if stunned she said such a thing.

Caught up in the moment, it took Anakin a second longer to make the connection. It was a Naberrie thing, except where it came to Jaina and Jacen. "Maybe not a Naberrie thing," Anakin said while deliberately looking in Karia's eyes, "But I thank the force for you." Then, to break the suddenly grim mood, he added: "So, when were you thinking about ripping all my clothes off?"

* * *

sp

**Author's Responses:**

Wow, haven't had this many reviews in a long time on this story. So, thanks to Manus Dei, Crytyk; Exodus5; whateveritis12; Rhett1980; katie147; Roosterman71; prudiisten; The-Knight2000; wawaboy2; and my old buddy from the Jedi Council, dajohu!

Now for any questions and answers:

Q: I was wondering if Kale and the rest will be able to save Jor from the Vong or if he would be lost forever. What does Braniac have planned? He seems to be out of the picture so I'm assuming he's plotting something big.

A: Brainiac does have something diabolical planned. As for Jor--Kale, Mara and Karia will not be able to save him. But that doesn't mean he has no hope.

Q: When did Danni get captured? The last time I remember seeing her she was helping Jan with the biological weapon. Now she's been caught and been a slave for so long that she has no fight left. When did that happen?

A: I know I answered by PM, but it was a good question. At the end of chapter 23, I believe, I made a cryptic message that Danni and Jan Ors almost made it back. Almost. Of course that meant they got captured.

Q: Is Kale ever going to use a sun dip and then smash into a Vong fleet?

A: No, but only because I never thought of it. Even then, though, he's still only one man. Given enough time he could probably wipe the fleet out, but many others would die in the process.

Anyway, I really appreciate this sudden upsurge in reviews. Who knows, maybe it'll continue! Thanks again for reading.


	29. The Future Now

Author's Notes at the end of the chapter:

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Future Now**

Coruscant was no more.

In its place rose Yuuzhan'tar.

The old Imperial Palace that housed the Chief of State was no more, blasted to oblivion from orbit. The Manarai Mountains were nothing more than shouldering craters. The great Western Sea, the only open body of water on Coruscant, was now a giant succession pull for the damuteks that housed much of the Vong leadership.

Qahsel received great honors for his role in the battle. He was named Qahsel Lah, member of the House of Lah, and given honors of a commander. Though he could not receive the proper spurs for his office because of his near impenetrable skin, a cloak of command was draped over his shoulders nonetheless.

Days later, when Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane arrived on the planet, Qahsel was further honored by being presented to the leader of the Yuuzhan Vong.

When the honors were granted and properly celebrated, and more warships dispatched to Alderaan to finish the threat, Qahsel was granted a damutek of his very own, and he went to visit his new home.

Slaves and Shamed One workers in the damutek knelt to honor their new master. Qahsel ignored them as per custom, and walked through all the chambers of the massive structure, until he finally arrived at his personal quarters.

There, Nen Yim knelt waiting for him.

She wore nothing more than a thin slip, and he once again felt the animal desire to pound into her, as he did so often. Their coupling was not a matter of love, but of unbridled aggression and even hatred. He knew he hurt her, and that fact pleased him.

Qahsel was indeed Yuuzhan Vong.

He strode to her and lifted her to her feet, while ripping away the cloth to expose her body. As a Yuuzhan Vong, she was attractive enough. She had put on weight at his command, giving her normally thin body curves she would otherwise have disdained. She had stopped her ritual scarring, instead using tattooing, so her skin was pleasantly smoothed.

She did not look at him. "My Lord, I await your pleasure."

"Yes," Qahsel said roughly.

"But I have another for you as well," she said. "A gift from the honored Warmaster. He said I was to give it to you on this very day."

He let her go. "Then do so."

She bowed to him and then strode nude across his chamber to touch an organic partition. The sheath of damutek skin pulled back, and Qahsel stared, his jaw open.

The woman stood before him in all her bare glory. She bore none of the scars of his people, nor any tattoos. Her skin was not the steeling blue common to the Vong, but instead was a pale, cream-color. The shape her her body was fuller, with more flesh. The Vong in him should have been disgusted, but he was not. She stood staring at him expectantly.

"This is Queesel," Yim said, her head bowed. "She has been shaped for you, Lord. For your pleasure."

Qahsel moved forward almost of his own volition. He was unable to take his eyes from the face, which was so familiar it caused an unfamiliar spike of pain in his chest. "Shaped?"

"Conditioned only," Yim said. "She is to service you in any way you desire."

"And you, Shamed One?"

"I remain your humble servant. It is my honor to bring you any pleasure you wish. But Warmaster Lah felt I was unworthy of your new station."

"Queesel, come here!" Qahsel barked.

Queesel responded stiffly. Her face remained impassive, her eyes boring straight head. He watched her breasts move with her steps. "What is your purpose?" he demanded.

She opened her mouth. Her voice was not smooth and thrilling, as he had hoped. It was hoarse and strained, as if damaged from screaming. "My purpose is to please my lord in any way he so desires."

"And if my desire is to couple you until your hips snap and you die?"

"Then I die with joy knowing it brought my lord pleasure," she said. Her voice caught at the end.

He turned to Yim. "You shall attend us," he said.

"As you wish, Lord," Yim said.

She stood nearby as he shed his armor and robes, watching with a clinical eye as Qahsel took the shaped Danni Quee to his bed. She watched as he did not break her hips. She watched, feeling something foreign in her heart, as he made gentle love to the human. She watched as Danni allowed her conditioning to respond in kind, and the two gasped in pleasure at their coupling.

When it was over, and Qahsel slept with a peaceful expression on his face, Nen Yim motioned Queesel to leave the bed. The blonde human obeyed, and in an adjoining room, Yim used a modified gnullith to harvest Qahsel's seed, and two of Queesel's eggs.

Queesel made no sound as her body was invaded for a second time that day. When the procedure was done, Yim said, "Return to our lord's bed. Serve him in whatever way he wishes."

Queesel bowed. Yim noticed that her eyes were moist, and smiled. "A bit of you is still there, isn't it? That was intentional. For you will love him. And he will love you. The future of our race resides between your legs, human. Now go."

Queesel left the room. When she was alone, Yim studied the eggs, and then grinned. One of the eggs was fertilized already. For the first time, they had a viable Kryptonian embryo.

The future was indeed now.

* * *

The meeting on board the Imperial Star Destroyer _Chimera_ was tense. Han was surprised to find that Grand Moff Daala was there, rather than Pellaeon. But his eyes were most securely fastened on the Chiss who called himself Grand Admiral Thrawn.

"There was a Thrawn at Coruscant," Han said after introductions were made. "In fact, he oversaw the defense of the planet during the battle. He died."

"He's a clone," Kale said.

The Chiss bowed his head with a wry smile. "I am indeed. I have studied the battle at great length. Although your leadership had an admirable plan, you should have lost the battle. If not for Master Naberrie's intervention, you most assuredly would have. And that is why I wished to speak to you, Master Naberrie."

They were meeting in the _Chimera's_ executive conference room. Han, Leia, Kale and Mara represented the New Republic, while Daala and Thrawn represented the Empire.

"And why is that, Admiral?" Kale asked.

"First, let us discuss our enemy. I have studied them at great length, and would like to share with you my thoughts."

When there were no objections, Thrawn nodded. "They are a people of fanatical religious devotion. Their religion dominates every aspect of their lives. It is a religion of pain, endurance and death. They practice live sacrifice on a massive scale. We have intercepted intelligence of entire planetary populations being murdered as sacrifices to their gods.

"They have an organic technology superior to any similar technology we have ever encountered. However, while vastly different, this organic technology is not necessarily superior to our synthetic technology. It can be counter-acted, as we have seen.

"These beings are extragalactic. From data you provided to Grand Admiral Pellaeon, it is clear that they entered the galaxy near Helska. Given the nature of intergalactic travel, it was a one-way trip. They cannot retreat.

"Given these facts, it seems clear that the Vong view this as a total, religiously mandated war. To lose is not just to die, but to fail their gods. Death is preferable to damnation."

Han nodded. Nothing he said was surprising. "Okay, assuming we can accept these facts, where does that leave us?"

"If we are to survive with any semblance of our previous civilizations, we must respond with total war ourselves. In fact, General Solo, your initial approach was the only correct one available. Your government consigned itself to oblivion by stopping you.

" I know this may conflict with your Jedi-inspired morals, but I do not see where there can be victory without the utter annihilation of the enemy. There can be no prisoners. There will be no surrender. And simply speaking, neither the New Republic nor the Empire are in a position to pursue such a war separately. Even as allies, such action would be difficult if not impossible to coordinate."

Han's eyes widened. "What are you suggesting?"

It was his wife, the former chief of state, who nodded. "You're suggesting a unified government."

"I am indeed," Thrawn said. "Though there are philosophical differences between us, in practice the Empire is much closer to the ideals espoused by the Old Republic than ever before, while the New Republic is, quite frankly, in tatters."

Leia looked to Daala. "And who would you suggest to lead such an organization?"

"Master Naberrie."

Kale stiffened visible. "I have no desire to lead anything.'

Thrawn's smile was almost predatory. "And that, my friend, is why you are the only choice."

Kale opened his mouth, but paused when Mara touched his arm. "Listen, Kale. Just listen."

"I would recommend a traditional three-tier government," Thrawn said, "but with a strengthened executive branch. Rather than a direct democracy, it will need to be a representative democracy. A popular senate, a president elected by the senate, and a judicial branch, each with clearly delineated duties. A constitution, of course. But the executive branch must have sufficient authority to pursue the war."

"Where does the Empire come in?" Han asked.

It was Daala who spoke. "The Moffs' council was shaken when Bastion fell. Even though we have taken it back, we suffered a sound defeat. Grand Admiral Thrawn and Pellaeon both have presented sobering numbers regarding the Vong's offensive capabilities. We are all loyal to the New Order, but the order cannot survive without the people we are sworn to protect."

Leia nodded. "I believe you are telling the truth, Grand Moff." She turned to Thrawn. "However, I cannot read you."

"An interesting effect either of my genetics or my cloning," Thrawn said. "Rest assured, my concern is destroying the Vong."

"And after that?" Kale said. "Why do you want me to lead this alliance?"

"Because you don't want to," Leia said at last. "All of us here are ambitious, Kale, for whatever our reason. I would want to ensure it was done right, but the Imperial factions would not trust me. Daala would for her own reasons, but we would not trust her. Thrawn frankly terrifies the NRDF."

"Leia," Han began, but she shook her head.

"But you, Kale, deliberately stepped away from politics. After Coruscant, you could easily have become the leader of the New Republic if you pursued it. But you left it all behind to be with your family. Whatever resentments arose from it, there is no question whatsoever that you are not a power monger."

"Even among the Empire," Daala said, "while we cursed you as the Monster of Coruscant, we understood just what it meant for you to step out of the war, especially for our side."

"But there is one problem," Kale said. "My son."

Thrawn nodded. "We have agents on Coruscant. I understand you do too. If you were to face him again, could you stop him?"

Kale understood the question. He could stop Jor-El. But could he kill him? No prison could hold a Kryptonian, save the one destroyed when General Zod and his followers were released. The only other option would be to kill him.

Kale bowed his head. "Jor-El has always been my responsibility. I will do whatever I must to keep him from harming others."

"The executive chief would have a cabinet, of course," Thrawn said. "Advisors with authority to act on his behalf. Advisors you trust. It would not be necessary for you to run the day-to-day affairs of state unless you chose to."

"Then what would be the point of me being the chief?"

"You're a hero, Kale," Mara said softly. Her hand continued to rest on his arm. "The beings of the galaxy look up to you. If you lead the fight against the Vong, they will rally behind you. You bring hope. You always have."

He looked at his wife. "Do you understand what you're asking of me?"

"Now more than ever." She turned to Thrawn. "Kale will not age and die, at least not like you. If you give him such power, you could find yourself under a dictatorship that lasts for eons with a ruler who has all the powers of a god."

"But the conscience of a Jedi," Thrawn said. "And that is why it must be Master Kale Naberrie, as opposed to you, Master Mara."

Mara nodded; she knew more than most that her morals could slip given sufficient cause. But Kale—he had already been tested. "You need to do this," she told her husband. "For the galaxy. When the war is over, you can retire and we can be happy again. But for now, the whole galaxy needs you and you alone."

"I'll have to think about this," Kale said. "If you'll excuse me?" He stood and left the room. Two stormtroopers fell in behind him just outside the door.

Daala looked to Mara. "You're different. Like him, now."

"I suspect it was the only way to cure you," Thrawn noted.

Mara nodded affirmation. "If he says yes, be prepared to have him very involved in the day-to-day affairs, Admiral. I never appreciated what being Kryptonian means until now. Our powers are not limited to physical. In the hour before this meeting, I was able to read and understand all the data you provided. So did Kale."

Thrawn raised an eyebrow. Daala coughed. "It took me a week reading ten hours a day."

"I can read faster than I ever thought possible," Mara said. "It feels almost like the rest of the world slows down. I can multitask like a droid. If you truly choose him to lead us, he will do so as he believes right, even if you disagree."

"He would not listen to advice?" Daala asked.

"Oh, he'll listen," Han said. "May not give a damn, but he'll listen. I convinced him not to squash Mara over there with a caf machine when he was a teen."

Daala raised an eyebrow. "I thought that scene was just added to the holodramas for entertainment."

"No, the drama that had that scene was fairly accurate," Mara said.

"Should be, Antilles was there."

Mara coughed. "You mean Wedge wrote that?"

"He wrote it thinking his sister would get the part. I thought he did a fairly good job."

"Explains why the most attractive actor was cast in his role, though," Leia said.

"So, I sense we have a great deal of work to do," Thrawn said. "Shall we get started?"

* * *

sp

Author's Responses:

First off, I'd like to thank prudiisten, Manus Dei, dajohu, The-Knight2000 and Barricade for reading. I greatly appreciate your comments and support.

Q: What happened to Jaina?

A: Jaina has assumed her duties as a Jedi. I'll admit that she has been relegated to a very small roll in this, and I know to a certain extent that it wasn't fair given how much attention she got in the books. On the other hand, the books sucked so badly they created vacuums around them, so perhaps leaving her out couldn't hurt?

No other real questions, so I'll just leave as a thank you for reading. I really appreciate it.


	30. It’s DejaVu All Over Again

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Thirty: It's **_**Deja-Vu**_** All Over Again**

"You know, it feels like I've done this part before," Kyle Katarn said. "Seems harder this time."

"That's because you're old now," Ganner Rhysode said.

Kyle hitched a thumb over his shoulder. "Boba Fett's no spring poulta bird."

"Stuff it up your exhaust pipe, Jedi," the bounty-hunter said gruffly.

Kyle, Ganner, Fett, Karrde and a mixed party of New Republic Defense Force soldiers and Mandalorian bounty-hunters were making their way through the ancient sewer systems that ran below the planet-wide city.

Fortunately, most of the truly bizarre denizens of the dark fled before their lights and their numbers. More than once they came across clusters of refugees seeking what shelter they could. The horrors on the surface were a thousand times worse than the horrors of the under city.

"Ganner, you feel it?" Kyle asked.

Rhysode nodded. "Pretty good-sized group. Professional."

"What's this?" Karrde demanded.

"Someone's waiting for us."

"Vong?" Fett demanded.

"Wouldn't be able to sense them if they were Vong," Kyle said. "And to think you're supposed to be smart."

"I could be dumber than a Gamorrian and still be up on you," Fett snarled.

"Children, please," Karrde said. "Can you sense if they're hostile?"

"No, just very cautious," the Jedi Master said. He turned to Fett. "Didn't Princess Leia knock you out once?"

Fett gave him the universal Mandalorian invitation to do obscene things to himself. Katarn chuckled and they started back down the tunnel. They were perhaps ten meters from the place where the two Jedi sensed their lurkers. "We know you're there," Katarn said. "Come out slow, or we start firing."

He was expecting an NRDF commando squad, or perhaps a militia unit. Possibly even civilians banded together for protection.

He was not expecting a squad of Imperial shadow stormtroopers, almost invisible in the dim lighting of the sewers because of their black armor. Nor were there just a couple. The troopers continued out into the sewer until they formed a line of nearly fifty men.

A single figure stepped from the line. He was tall and heavy with muscles. He appeared to be in his forties. He too wore black armor, but with a bright crimson cape hanging from his shoulders that reminded Kyle very much of the Emperor's Imperial Guard.

Which meant: "Kir Kanos. What a pleasant surprise."

Kanos cocked one eyebrow. "Have we met, Jedi?"

"Mirith Sinn is a friend of mine."

"Oh?"

"She still talks about you on occasion. From the way she tells it, you're largely responsible for the power vacuum that allowed Daala and Pellaeon to assume control of the Empire."

Kanos shrugged. "Traitors to the Empire must die."

"Well, it's good to have a purpose in life," Kyle said. "What can I do for you?"

"I've been instructed to offer you my aid in subverting the Vong on this planet," Kanos said. He spoke with a growl, as if the orders caused him physical pain.

"Like we need help from him," Fett said.

"Kanos here is the last of the old Imperial Guards," Kyle said. "If my friend is correct, he single-handedly wiped out the old Imperial Ruling Council for their role in the reborn Emperor's death."

"Good for him," Fett muttered. "So what?"

"We know where your former Chief of Intelligence is," Kanos said. "And we know where Naberrie is.'

Kyle went very still. "Jan Ors. Is she alive?"

"She was as of yesterday."

"How is she?"

"Probably wishing she were dead," Kanos said without a trace of emotion. "She and others are being gathered for sacrifice tomorrow. To appease the gods. Evidently the battle at Alderaan did not go as the Vong wished, so they plan to slaughter tens of thousands to appease their barbaric gods."

"And Naberrie?"

"The son of the Great Murderer is housed like a king among the Vong, along the Great Northern Sea. Our intelligence tells us he has been gifted with a human female for his pleasure."

"With our luck it's probably Danni," Kyle muttered.

Kir stared at him.

Kyle stared back. "You've got to be kidding me. You mean the Vong somehow knew he had a crush on Danni Quee out of all the trillions of girls in the galaxy, and somehow give him this one girl?"

Kanos shrugged. "I don't care who she is or what perversions they're doing, I just want the monster dead.'

"Well, good luck with that," Katarn said. "As far as we know, there's only one substance in the galaxy that can kill Kryptonians, and I'm pretty sure that Kale destroyed it all. If he didn't, Mara sure did."

Kanos started to speak, but Kyle grinned. "That said, I bet it would piss off Mr. I'm-A-Bad-Guy-Now to no end if we were to take his little girlfriend away from him."

"Katarn, do you really want to piss off a man who can see through walls, fly faster than light and break star destroyers in half?" Karrde said.

"If I can get away with it, sure, why not?" He turned to Kanos. "You really here to help? Quee is a secondary target. Although I very much want to save my wife, Jan Ors is the higher priority target because of her intelligence background. Even if they already have every code she knows, she can probably give a better accounting of what's going on here than anyone else alive."

"Then that's who we get first," Kanos said. "Although, in all likelihood either Naberrie or his master Desh will interfere."

"Reck Desh," Kyle said. "Kale says he's actually some type of Kryptonian droid still programmed to do General Zod's bidding. We all watched him beat both Jor-El and Karia to a pulp. He'd likely give even Kale a run for his money."

"However, if Naberrie came," Karrde said, "it would make it much simpler to reach this Danni Quee, wouldn't it?"

Kyle nodded, his brows furrowed in thought. Finally, he turned to Fett. "All right, Bounty Hunter. How do you feel about saving pretty damsels in distress?"

"Nothing, unless they're paying."

"Pay rate's what we agreed. Take your Mandalorians, Karrde's people and Ganner here, and try for Danni. The rest of you, we're on Ors. I'm sure our friends from the Empire won't mind sharing their intelligence.'

* * *

Jan sagged under the stifling humidity and near-tropical heat that was so foreign to Coruscant. Already the Vong had adjusted the atmospheric content of the planet to retain additional heat, and it showed.

Jan sat on what was likely a former plaza, along with thousands upon thousands of other beings of all species. Her clothing was little more than rags, so dirty the fabric was as stiff as a board in places. She could no longer smell the stench, since her nose had become sensitized to the general stink of all those around her.

She knew she was starving to death. The Vong had not bothered to feed them in days. The only reason thirst was not an issue was the constant rains that fell every few hours to nurture the growths that were quickly overwhelming the city.

She looked down at her synthetic hand, thankful that the synthflesh was unbroken and the Vong did not realize she was a cyborg. If they did, she knew they would have killed her in as vicious a fashion as they could. She had seen several civilians with artificial limbs literally ripped apart.

She was going to die.

Danni knew when she came down in the nose-bubble of a Vong destroyer-analogue that she and all those around her were going to die. There was no value to her life at all. The Vong viewed her and all those around her as less than animals.

Ors had seen many things, but in all her years she had never encountered evil to this extent. Even the Yevetha were not so thoroughly blood-thirsty as the Vong. Although if her last reports were accurate, from before her capture, the Yevetha had actually welcomed the Vong as superiors and were accepted as a slave race. They had similar views on the value of life.

She wished sincerely that she had had a chance to see Kyle one more time. To tell him how much she regretted not having children. It would have been a lie, of course. Jan despised children. But she would have lied for him. And he would have laughed in her face, told her she was lying, and kissed her until her toes curled.

Even starving and half-delusional from the heat, Jan wanted to be in her husband's arms more than anything.

"Yeah, that'd be nice, wouldn't it, Honey?" Kyle said.

She nodded weakly. "Been dreaming about it for weeks," Jan admitted. "Sorry for dying on you. Not sure it's worth lying 'bout kids, though. Nasty little buggers."

"You liked Jaina enough."

"Once she was out of diapers," Jan said. Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "I would rather lose my other arm than change a diaper."

"I know, Honey."

She looked with bleary vision when she realized something. "Am I dead, Kyle?"

"Not yet. But you're not doing so hot."

"Is that why I'm seeing you?"

"Nah, you're seeing me because I stayed on the planet to play havoc with the Vong."

"Oh." Her eyes suddenly widened. "Kyle, are you really here?"

Kyle Katarn smiled, took her too-thin hands and pulled her onto his lap. She was so light it made him teary-eyed. "I'm here, love."

Her eyes rolled into her head, and she promptly passed out.

"You have a way with women," the NRDF lieutenant said. He'd shed his tunic and all markings. Around them, the rest of the slaves were not much better off than Ors. The Chazrach and Vong guards continued to skirt the far perimeter of the slaves, but did not bother to actually walk among them. The sacrifice was going to be in just a few hours.

"Your people finding any candidates for saving?"

"A few. Half of these people were in the slave bubbles from the initial attack. Those taken after are in much better shape. We're arming them very quietly."

Katarn nodded. "It's going to be close. Let's get to the extraction point before we do anything."

It was difficult carrying Jan in a crouching . The only thing in his favor was the fact that his wife, formerly 60 kilos was now down to just 36 at the most. Some of the slaves not too far gone noticed his clean clothes, and some even noticed the silver cylinder at his belt.

Kyle saw their eyes. "No promises," he told them. "But if you want to die fighting back, or live to fight another day, then follow me. The more, the merrier."

The Vong warriors eventually had no choice but to notice as a growing number of their sacrifices were scurrying toward the far-side of the plaza. The commander of the security force began shouting orders and his underlings, along with a horde of Chazrach, plowed into the terrified but weakened slaves to seek out the source of the disturbance.

That is when the Vong encountered the effects of the Tenloss DXR-6 Disrupter Rifle.

Disrupter technology was illegal in the New Republic. The concentrated blasts of energy disrupted matter on a molecular level and were known to cause excruciating, mind-rending pain for the very short time the victim had left to live.

It also had the bonus of being able to slice through organic matter with very little effort.

Thus, when the Shadow troopers, glimmering in their black uniforms against the darkened Coruscant night, began to fire through IR and thermal sniper scopes at the on-coming Vong warriors, those warriors were quickly reduced to piles of ash.

The roar of alarm that followed shook the whole plaza. Disrupter rifles were replaced with AI-guided missiles programmed to hone in on Vong silhouettes. Heavy blaster fire opened up on the Chazrach. And in the case of the single Vong warrior who managed to get to where the slaves were gathering in such numbers, Force-lightning shattered the night, followed by the flash of a blue lightsaber.

Kyle hooked the sword back to his belt. "That was for Jan, you bastard.'

"Incoming," Kanos said over their newly synched coms.

Kyle looked up to see a swarm of Tsik-Vai atmospheric fighters and several dozen of the Vong swoop-analogues. "Looks like this would be a good time to head out," Kyle said.

He ran back, snatched Jan from the ground and ran for the entrance to the building they were going to use to get to the lower levels. Already the NRFD and shadow stormtroopers had set up a perimeter of heavy fire. The barrage of weapons-fire caused the swoop-analogues to veer away. The fighters fired their plasma weapons haphazardly, killing hundreds of slaves.

Kyle held Jan close and ran for everything he was worth. Suddenly Kanos was running at his side, staring at the starved figure in his arms. "Was she worth it?"

"She was worth it and then some," Kyle said.

"If you say so."

* * *

"Qahsel! Infidels have attacked us!"

Qahsel leapt from his bed nude, but did not care. The Warmaster stood glaring at him.

Qahsel fell to his knees. "Tell me how to serve you, Lord!"

"Destroy the infidels," Lah hissed. "Destroy them all."

"It shall be done." Qahsel dressed quickly, and with a final Vong salute at his master, sped from the room faster than the eye could follow.

In his wake, Danni Quee, known now as Queesel, sat in his bed staring at the creature that could destroy her. Beside the bed, Nen Yim knelt.

"Tell me of your progress, Yim."

"Success, Lord!" Yim said. "We have a fetus. In this state it is possible to shape it to our desires. It grows quickly. In a matter of weeks, it will be as you desire."

Lah locked his eyes on Queesel with a sneer. "And so what do we need this one for?"

"One shaped demon is a force, Lord. An army is unstoppable. She can produce many more fetuses for us before she dies."

Lah considered this for a moment. "So be it. But only ten. No more. And when the first is suitable, he shall destroy Desh, and she shall be disposed of."

"As you wish, master."

"You're not seriously thinking about killing a pretty girl like that, are you?"

Lah turned, incredulous. A human stood in the home of Qahsel. Not just a human. A Jeedai. "What blasphemy is this?"

Lah lifted his Baton of Rank and slammed it down with bone-crushing force and a growl of rage.

Ganner Rhysode rolled away from the lethal blow. "So you're the great Warmaster. You are an ugly one, I'll give you that."

Rhysode dodged away from the blorash jelly that was flung at him. He cut the thud bugs down with his lightsaber.

Yim watched at Queesel's side as the two fought viciously. Though Ganner was a powerful Jedi, Lah was a Warmaster. He was easily a head and a half taller than the Jedi, with a longer reach and lightening fast reflexes almost on par with the Jedi. And he fought with an open rage that a Jeedai would dare step foot in a Vong dwelling.

Yim noticed her shaped human wince as the Baton stabbed the Jedi in the stomach. She noticed Queesel pale as the Warmaster kicked the Jedi in the thigh with his vua'sa talon. Ganner was losing blood and tiring before the enraged, relentless onslaught.

That was when Yim noticed another figure by the door, covered in the abominable armor that Intendant Anor had described as belonging to the Mandalorians.

Lah and Rhysode both saw Fett's entry as well. "Make sure she gets where she needs to be," Ganner said.

Lah roared his rage at this further betrayal and whipped his baton of rank around in a blow that could not be stopped. Nor did Ganner try. He whipped his saber up at an angle, sliding his blue blade into the weakened part of the armor under the armpit and into Lah's chest cavity even as the baton cleaved into the Jedi's skull.

Both toppled to the ground. However, Lah slowly started to get up. Fett walked across the room as more Mandalorians and Talon Karrde entered the room. The bounty hunter lifted his blaster to the fatally wounded Warmaster. "Don't both to get up," he said, before he fired directly into the enraged but dying Vong's face.

Meanwhile, Talon Karrde knelt on the side of the bed. "Danni Quee?"

Queesel's face twitched, but she did not respond. Karrde turned to Yim. "What have you done to her?"

"She has been shaped to better service my master."

"And he was shaped too, I take it."

"Of course. His shaping was a glory to the gods. He is one of the gods himself, now."

"I bet. Tell me how to free her, or you die."

"My death is irrelevant," Yim said. "Only the gods matter." She then leaned over to Queesel. "Jor-El loves you."

Queesel began to shake. It started in her hands, but quickly ran up the length of her arms to her shoulders and chest. Her whole body began shaking as tears poured from her eyes. When at last she looked up at Talon Karrde, it was as Danni Quee.

"Help me," she whispered.

"That's why I'm here," he said. He turned to Yim. "Why do this?"

"For my god," Yim said. "He cares for this one. His love for her is deeper than his shaping. Qahsel cannot assume his place among the gods as a shaped being. She can free him of his shaping, and he can lead the Vong to paradise as our newest god!"

"She's Vong. I think we should kill her," Fett said.

Karrde noticed how the thought of death did not even bring a frown to the Vong's face. In fact, if anything she seemed to look forward to it. "No, I don't think so. Her death serves no purpose and her life just might someday. We have our target. Did your people finish neutralizing the rest of the compound?"

"It's done."

"All right, let's get going. That Vong transport we stole may not wait forever."

Karrde wrapped the organic sheets on the bed around Danni's nude frame, and carried her from the room.

When she was alone, Yim smiled up at the ceiling. "Your ascension will be soon, Lord."

* * *

sp

**Author's Responses**:

First, I'd like to thank whateveritis12; Manus Dei; prudiisten; katie147; The-Knight2000 and dajohu for your reviews and comments. Thank you!

Now, for everyone's least favorite part: Questions and Answers.

Q: I would like to see more of Jaina and definitely wouldn't mind her becoming relevant in some way. I understand Anakin, because he'd dating a Naberrie, but some more Solo action wouldn't be a bad thing.

A: Ordinarily I don't act on statements like this, regardless of how good they are, because the story is usually advanced to such a point in writing that I'd have to go back and make major changes, and I normally am not willing to do that. However, a few weeks ago I lost over 40 pages of this story and haven't rewritten them completely, so I find myself in what is for me a unique position of a blank slate going forward. This is a long-winded way of saying great suggestion, and I think I'll be able to work her more into the story since she was previously not given the time her character deserves. Thanks!

The rest had some very nice comments which I appreciate. I'm also thrilled to say that Children of the Red Sun has received several confirmed nominations for the Jedi Council forums fanfiction awards for this year. Thank you all!


	31. The Puppet Master

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One: The Puppet Master **

Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane was not happy.

His anger was best expressed by the crushed skull of the Vong warrior who brought him news of Tsavong Lah's death. The massive Vong overlord, a head again taller than any of his warriors, stood from his throne and roared in rage.

And then, just as quickly, his rage passed and he thunked down into his chair. "Bring the infidel collaborator to me," he said.

Two warriors ran out of the room and emerged a moment later with an innocuous-looking human with thinning blond hair and a blank expression. The human made a show of stepping over the dead body.

"Reck Desh," the Supreme Overlord growled, "Lah informed me you were his servant. Where were you when these blasphemers breached the home of Qahsel and stole his servants?"

"Serving the greater glory of the Yuuzhan Vong, Overlord," Desh said with an eerie calm even the Vong warriors thought odd. The sight of the Supreme Overlord in a rage made even the most seasoned warriors nervous.

Jamaane evidently thought the same. "And who are you, Desh, to decide what the greater glory of my people are?"

Desh's smile was as chilling as the Overlord's glare. "I am but a humble servant, Overlord."

"I should kill you where you stand."

"Perhaps, Overlord," Desh said. He did not sound troubled by the prospect. "Before you do, however, you should know the fruits of my efforts."

"I should know? You would dare tell me what I, Supreme Overlord, chosen of the gods, should know?"

"Yes."

With a shocking roar, Jamaane launched himself from his throne and slammed his Scepter of Power directly into Desh's head.

The scepter shattered. Desh did not even move. All around the room, warriors, shapers and priests alike fell to their knees, staring in horror at this greatest of blasphemies. Even Jamaane backed up a step. "You are like them!" the Supreme Overlord growled. "Like the cursed monsters, the Kryptonians."

"Of course I am," Desh said. "How else do you think I was able to deliver the son of Kal-El to you? No mere mortal could have done that."

"You are a god, then?"

"I have been called such," Desh said. "And as such, I tell you that your pet is more than he appears to be."

Jamaane spun around where Onimi stood. "What does that mean?"

"This one is Force-sensitive," Desh said. "I have been observing him. He is controlling you, Overlord, in the same way the Jedi can control others. He is the only Yuuzhan Vong with this power. While he stands beside you, it is he, and not you, who controls your people."

Onimi stared back, his mouth open. "Lies!" the shamed shaper said. "All lies! I am but a humble servant."

"Then come and die for me, servant," Jamaane said. "Come take your own life, if you are true Yuuzhan Vong."

Onimi turned to run. Desh disappeared only for the blink of an eye, and when he reappeared, Onimi squirmed in his grasp. Jamaane grabbed his servant's head with both hands. "You are a shamed one. I let you live, and you betray me thus?"

Before Onimi could speak, or even lash out with the Force, Jamaane squeezed with all his might, until the former shaper's head collapsed into a bloody mush. Desh dropped him to the floor to lie beside the fallen warrior.

"Supreme Overlord, we have a common enemy," Desh said in the resounding silence. "I am the sworn enemy of Kal-El, whom this galaxy knows as Kale Naberrie. Into your hands I have brought his only son to be shaped into a weapon. From his loins you have a Kryptonian to shape to your will. In return for these gifts, I ask only that you aid me in destroying my enemies. This was the agreement I had with Tsavong Lah. Upon his death, I offer the same to you."

"And where is Qahsel now?"

"He seeks those who killed Tsavong Lah to teach them the error of their ways."

Jamaane settled back into the throne that sat in the center of his great citadel, which now rested in the center of the newly named Yuuzhan'Tar. "How do we kill the demon Naberrie?"

"With his son," Desh said. "And the shaped seeds that we have gleaned from him."

* * *

Kale stared at the thick pile of flimsiplasts. "That's a lot of words."

"Articles of Alliance," Mara said. "That, Kale, is the formation of a new government."

Though the two of them spoke in subvocal tones that only an Ithorian could hear, they most definitely were not alone. In fact, the Grand Ball Room of the Organa Palace in Aldera City was packed to capacity with holonet reporters, military officers, Imperial representatives and anyone else of sufficient power to have an interest in the events of the day.

Still speaking so low as to almost be telepathic, Kale said, "I can't believe you talked me into this."

"I can," Mara said. "Now smile and sign the damn flimsiplast."

Kale forced a smile on his face and signed the form. The moment the pen touched the surface, people started cheering. The cheer turned into a roar of approval and thunderous applause as Kale finished his signature, establishing the first Galactic Alliance, with him as the duly appointed president.

Kale carefully placed the flimsiplast on the stack and stood. The table he, Mara, Han, Leia, Thrawn, Pellaeon and Daala all sat at was elevated by a meter over the rest of the hall, so even those in the back could see. Additional monitors broadcast a close-up of the table around the palace, and in fact over the free galaxy.

Kale remained standing while the applause continued, until at last it faded sufficiently for him to talk. He spotted the directed amplifiers, so knew his voice would carry even if he spoke in his normal tone.

"This is a historic day," he said. "Two weeks ago, over this very palace, we saw the first victory over the Vong since General Han Solo was forced by questionable politics to relinquish his post. This victory was possible only through the heroism of the New Republic Defense Forces and the Imperial Navy together, and the brilliant leadership of both General Solo, and Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Galactic Empire. We saw that day how, by combining our mighty societies, we could achieve victory. And that is why we are gathered here today."

Kale took a deep breath. He'd rehearsed the speech, which he, Leia and Mara all had a hand in writing. Even Daala had looked it over to make sure he didn't offend any of their new allies.

"The Yuuzhan Vong attacked our worlds without provocation. They have murdered trillions of our people in the name of their blood-thirsty gods. They have ignored all tenants of a civilized society, and through their actions have proven they are outside any tenants of law, or any covenants of good thinking. For this reason, it is the belief of myself and my cabinet, which have joined me here today, that there can only be one outcome for this terrible conflict. The Galactic Federation of Free Alliances hereby declares total war on the Yuuzhan Vong. There shall be no quarter. There shall be no mercy, not even to civilians. We will fight until the last Vong dies, for the Yuuzhan Vong have left us no other choice. By their actions, they have shown themselves to be the enemies of all that is good and decent. They are a cancer in this galaxy, and for civilization to flourish, the cancer must be excised. To this end, I and this cabinet will dedicate our very existence. We will fight for you, all of us. I will fight for you. No matter the cost."

The question and answer period that followed was hectic, but even Kale knew it was necessary. The new government had to be seen as answering to the people it was supposed to lead. After a full hour of questions and answers, the press conference came to an end.

Once they were safely ensconced in executive quarters, Kale looked at his new cabinet. Han was the new Secretary of Defense, while Thrawn was appointed Supreme Commander of the GFFA military. Even Han couldn't complain about the appointment.

Leia and Daala were each appointed as a co-secretary of state, each with a section of the galaxy to oversee. Daala essentially guided the Imperial sectors, while Leia oversaw the former New Republic territories.

However, Kale surprised them all when he asked Gilad Pellaeon to be his vice-president.

"After all, who better to ride roughshod over a senate than a man who's spent the past ten years running roughshod over a moff's council?"

Of course, there was no senate yet, but there would be within the next few months. But what their first official meeting was about was nothing more or less than military strategy. Thrawn and Solo laid out everything they had, from shipyards to potential crews. From the Hapan Consortium to the Hutt clans and the Chiss, the two former enemies detailed every single possible asset they could bring against the enemy.

They included Kale in that planning.

They had begun the fifth hour of the meeting when an Alderaanian palace guard ran into the room. Mara caught him, and the two spoke briefly. She nodded her thanks and sent the man away.

She returned to the table beside her husband and cleared her throat. "We just received word that the Vong Warmaster Tsavong Lah was killed by Jedi Knight Ganner Rhysode on Coruscant. Rhysode and Kyle Katarn remained behind with a small squad of NRDF soldiers to do what they could for the residents. Rhysode was also killed in the fight. We're getting a lot of confused signals, but it appears that Kyle Katarn, Talon Karrde and Admiral Thrawn's Imperial scouts there have rescued several thousand civilians, including key intelligence personnel. They are being hunted personally by…our son, who now goes by the name of Qahsel."

The table fell quiet.

It was Thrawn who spoke. "We are not in a position at present to begin operations to recover Coruscant."

"Any full scale recovery operation would endanger the civilians anyway," Han said. His exhaustion showed around his eyes, and in the dull tone of his voice. He looked at Kale. "What do you think?"

"The creature that Mara and I fought during Coruscant's fall was not Jor-El," Kale said. "He was shaped, like we've seen before, by Brainiac and the Vong. Where Jor-El would give his life to save others, Qahsel would not hesitate to kill every one of them. Right now, he and Brainiac are the greatest threats we face."

"What are you thinking?" Leia said.

But Mara understood. "You're going to use the operatives as bait to capture Jor."

The entire table bristled. "Mr. President," Thrawn began.

Kale held up his hand. "It has to be us. And not just Mara and me. We'll probably need Karia with us as well. He still has a Kryptonite lightsaber that could kill any of us. But if he's hunting them, then he won't be aware of being hunted, especially if his Force sense has been blunted, which I believe is the case."

"You're endangering the government by endangering yourself," Pellaeon said. "I know it is the temptation of the Jedi to lead from the front lines, but history showed quite clearly how that turned out."

"History also showed us what happens when I walk away from my responsibility," Kale said with cool determination. He eyed everyone at the table, and the brilliant, too-blue color of his eyes made everyone sit up a little.

"Admiral Thrawn, please prepare a quick-strike recovery team. Ensure it has at least one medical frigate. This strike force is to remain just beyond the Corusca system until summoned. They are not to engage any hostile forces until they receive my signal. Han, I believe we have some captured Vong ships from the battle in orbit?"

Han nodded.

"Prepare one large enough for myself, Mara, and Karia. Mara will pilot. I want this done within the next three hours. In my absence, the Vice President will assume executive duties. Our primary goal as you are all aware is to establish shipyards and training crews. All the ships in the world won't do a bit of good without crewmembers to run them. And on the flip side we also need to reach out to threatened worlds to let them know we're here, and we're not going to run any more. Leia and Natasi, this task will fall primarily to you. Han, I also like your idea of recruiting Lando and Tendra's droids into our effort. Based on the Vong's responses to droids throughout the conflict, not only will it demoralize them, but it will also be a quick way of getting more blasters on the ground."

"I'll give Lando a call," Han said.

Kale finally turned his eyes to Leia. "History notwithstanding, it's time for the Jedi to assume a greater role, wouldn't you say?"

Leia nodded to Thrawn. "We've already started coordinating that. Though I would appreciate it if you could get Kyle back. It's been a long time since I've coordinated knights on the ground."

"I'll get him back," Kale said. His voice was chilling in its determination. "I'll get them all back, one way or another."

* * *

"So are you ticklish?" Anakin asked.

The question was immediately followed by questing fingers brushing against Karia's ribs. She squirmed with laughter and responded with equal force, until Anakin rolled off the bed.

The two were exactly where their parents would not have wanted them—together alone in Karia's room in the palace. For lack of any place else, the Palace had become the de facto capital of the galaxy and, as the daughter of the newly appointed president, Karia had a luxurious suite to herself.

Naturally, Anakin found her almost as soon as she got moved in.

Gasping, Anakin called out, "I give, I give!"

"You better," Karia warned. Her cheeks were flushed with laughter, and something more. She helped him easily back to his feet, and then hopped back to the bed where he followed. He leaned back against the head of the bed and she snuggled into his arm.

"So, you're ticklish, but impervious to pain. How does that work?"

"It's a mental block," Karia said. "Up to a certain level, we feel just like you do. But when the pain threshold gets exceeded, then our brains shut off the pain receptors. We can still feel it, but we don't experience pain like you do. For you, pain is your body's signal that something has harmed you. Since not that much really harms us, pain is a little different."

"How 'bout when you fought Brainiac, or Jor in the temple?"

She sobered and he felt her move a little closer. "I was being harmed," she said quickly. "It hurt really bad. I thought I was going to die each time. I've never been scared like that, not ever before."

"So, can you…you know…er…be with a man?"

She propped up on her elbow to look him in the face. "Why, you know any?"

"Har har. You know what I mean."

"Anakin, where do you think I came from? Mother may be Kryptonian now, but she wasn't when I was born."

"Wasn't it hard on her?"

"The gestation almost killed her, both times. But she survived. Daddy always said it was because of the Force. That he and Mom were able to conceive because of their bond in the Force. It was never about not being able to be together." She laughed. "I did read one scientific paper last year, though, that said Jor and I should never have been born, because when dad ejaculated it should have been like a slug thrower."

Anakin choked. "Er, gods, do you actually read about things like that?"

She shrugged. "It's interesting. It's not like we have a lot of information about what we are, you know. Daddy's told us some, but not everything."

"So, if you were to decide sometime that…well, let's say I was worth…"

"Worth?" she asked with an arched brow.

He sighed. "You're not making this easy."

"If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, I don't think I'm supposed to make it easy."

"Even if I love you?"

"Don't you think we're a little young?"

"I'm not suggesting we throw our clothes off and do it right now," Anakin said quickly, with a bright flush.

"Really?"

"Really," he said again. "At least not until I'm reasonably sure I won't die in the process. I mean, granted I'd die the best possible death a man could have, but I'd still be dead."

She stared directly at his earnest expression and couldn't help but chuckle. "The best possible death?"

"In your arms."

The chuckle turned into a laugh. "Anakin, you have the worst pick-up lines I have ever heard."

"It's not like I've had a lot of practice."

"The other girls at the temple adored you," Karia said. "They watched you everywhere you went."

"They weren't you," he said simply. "They never were. Every girl I ever met was doomed, because the first thing I did was compare her to you. I mean, even when we were kids. Was she as smart as Karia? Was she as pretty as Karia? Did she have the right color of hair like Karia? Was she as sweet or funny? I've never been able to date anyone."

"So your inexperience is my fault?"

"Did your dad ever date anyone after your mom first met and tried to kill him?"

Karia blinked. "No."

"And he was my age, wasn't he?"

"Yes."

Anakin sat up and leaned forward until his nose was an inch from her face. "I've had visions, Karia. I don't think they're just dreams. Whether you have me or not, I promise by the Force there will never be anyone else for me but you. That's why our Force-bond formed. You were always the only one for me."

"That's still not going to get me to sleep with you," she said, though she could feel heat from her blush seeping up her cheeks.

He leaned forward until their lips met, and the heat bloomed across both of them as the bond strengthened. When at last they parted, Anakin grinned mischievously. "Not yet."

Before Karia could stumble out a reply, they heard a loud clearing of the throat and spun around to see both their mothers standing just inside the door.

"At least they're clothed," Mara noted.

"Probably due to your kid more than mine," Leia said.

Mara shrugged. "Maybe."

Karia buried her face in the comforter of her bed while Anakin jumped out of the bed with a deep flush. "We were just talking."

"I'm sure," Mara said, though she was grinning. The grin, however, sobered quickly. "Well, young love will have to wait. Get your things, Karia, including your lightsaber. We're going to go retrieve your wayward brother."

Karia stiffened. "We're going after Qahsel?"

"No, we're going to kill Qahsel and get your brother back. One way or the other."

* * *

sp

**Author's Responses: **

I'd like to thank THe-Knight2000, Dajohu; Roosterman71; Radar666; Exodus5; and prudiisten for your reviews and comments. In case any of you also follow this story over the the Jedi Council Forums, I was very happy to have multiple nominations for this story in their annual fanfic awards.

Q: Well, sad to see Ganner die, although he helped take down the warmaster it wasn't as poetic as in canon where he did the whole Gandalf thing.

A: I said over the TF.N that you can tell when an author as a favorite author they end up having to kill off. Cool name, and insanely wanktastic death scene. I followed the spirit of it, but with a slightly more realistic ending.

Q: lso you seem to be hinting that Jor-El and Danni are going to be leaving with the Vong at the end of this. Am I reading this wrong or is there something to what I'm thinking?

A: Haven't reached the end, so I can't say. But probably not.

Thank you all again!


	32. Broken In Two

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Thirty-Two: Broken In Two**

"What's that?" Han asked the night before Kale and his family were due to leave in the refitted Vong ship.

He found his wife on their bed in the Royal Suite of the palace, since she was in fact the Queen of Alderaan. She had a holoreader in her lap and was staring at something with a blank expression.

She looked up in surprise and started to put the reader up. "Oh, nothing much."

"Sweetie, you may be a powerful Jedi Master, but you are a crappy sabacc player. You can't lie to save your life. Not to me. What is that?"

She sighed and pulled the reader back. She lifted a small data crystal from her lap. "Something Kale gave me. He's had it for a while, since he and Mara returned from Hoth. But they just never got around to giving it to me."

"What is it?"

"It's a love letter from Darth Vader."

Han sputtered. "What's that term Winter used once for describing me and subtle—mutually exclusive? Love and Vader are mutually exclusive."

Even as he spoke, though, he scooted across the bed to sit next to her. "You look at it yet?"

"I'm frankly not sure I'm going to," Leia admitted. "It's a part of my life long past. Why bring it back?"

"No reason at all," Han said. He wormed his arm behind her, and she shifted to snuggle into him. "If you want I can get rid of it for you."

She chuckled. "And you say I'm a bad sabacc player. You want to see it more than I do."

"Maybe," he said. He leaned down to kiss her head. "I know I wasn't there when he died, but from what you told me, in a real way he saved you. He made sure we could get you back from whatever the Emperor did to you. And he died for you."

"After torturing me, and betraying me, and hunting me like an animal, and ruthlessly slaughtering my adopted family. I saw holos of the crime scene. He cut my father into pieces, Han."

"I'm not trying to say he was a nice guy," Han said with a shrug. "I'm just curious."

Leia said nothing as she stared down at the data chip. Finally, she placed it into the reader. The image that appeared was not the frightening masked visage that had haunted her nightmares for years. It was rather a pale, rounded face marked with horrid scars.

The background was bright white, and she realized he was recording this in his hyperbaric chamber. "Leia," the face wheezed. "I would call you Daughter, but we both know I have not earned that right. As I record this, the Emperor is conditioning you to do his will. But I have placed a failsafe within your psyche. Your true father's name.

"I know you must hate me. I hate myself as well for what has become of me. They told me you had died. That your mother never survived. But then again, she would not have died in the first place if not for my misguided attempts to save her. If only I knew the threat I strove to save her from was myself. There is a key in this crystal. If you give it to my old astromech unit, R2-D2, it will reveal to you everything. Both the bad, and for those brief moments, the good. Though you were born in a time of woe and pain, please believe that you were conceived through a deep and abiding love.

"I am sorry for the pain I have caused you, my daughter. For your never knowing the brilliant woman who was your mother. For my being a monster. I can never hope for your forgiveness, but after you see everything, it is my sincere hope that one day I may have at least your understanding. I know you will come through this hard time. Your cousin Kale will save you. And he will find this recording. And you will be the Jedi you were meant to be—the Jedi I failed to be. May the Force be with you, always."

The face disappeared. Leia sat perfectly still, her face a blank mask.

"R2 unit, huh?" Han asked. "Weren't most of your family's R2 units on the _Tantive IV_?"

"I think so."

"That's too bad," Han said with genuine regret.

"But Artoo wasn't."

"What?"

"I remember him because the droid never got his memory wiped—father always insisted for some reason. When I was four, we heard that Vader had destroyed some mid-rim world out of spite, and Father decided to pull this astromech unit from the fleet duty roster and assigned him to our summer home. As far as I know, he's still there, with this odd little protocol droid whose wiring is completely different than any factory-produced protocol unit we ever had. I remember Threepio would actually watch Winter and me as girls sometimes, and he fretted like an old maid. Droids don't do that."

"No, I guess they don't," Han said. "So, you going to go visit the droids?"

"Not right now," Leia said. She put the reader on the night table and turned to her husband. "Right now, I'm going to make love to the Secretary of Defense, and then I'm going to sleep."

"Sounds naughty," Han said with a grin. "Does your husband know about this?"

"Shut up and kiss me, Nerfherder."

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

"I'm telling you we need to go this way," Kyle Katarn said for the fifth time.

Kir Kanos shook his head. "This way provides the greatest safety."

"And this way provides lead," Katarn said. "You've obviously never been chased by an all-powerful being who can see for miles through anything but lead. Jor's father blasted through a whole planet to get to Jor. Do you think for an instant that his son couldn't blast through a few miles to get to us? We have to stay in the Imperial tunnels."

Kanos scoffed. "The Empire did not use lead-lined walls to ship water. It is poisonous to most species."

"Why do you think they run under the old Invisec sections?" Kyle said.

"What are you saying?"

Behind Kyle, Jan Ors whispered, "Remember who you're speaking to, Kyle. Kanos was an Imperial Guard. The Empire could never have done anything like purposefully poison the water supply to kill off the alien trash of the planet."

Kyle looked back at his wife, who was just barely standing. They were on day eight of their underground adventure of trying to avoid Qahsel, and though she had been given food and water and Kyle carried her half the time, the former Intelligence Chief wasn't looking significantly better than when they found her.

"Look," Kyle said with a sigh, "it doesn't matter who built them. What matters is they're the only thing Jor can't see through. So it doesn't even really matter where we're going. We just need to stay away from him."

"You make him sound like he's the only threat," Kanos noted.

"He is," Kyle said. "We can fight Vong. Might not win, but we can at least fight them. We don't have anything that can hurt Jor. And as long as we have Danni, he's going to be coming after us."

At the mentioning of Danni Quee, all eyes turned to the blonde woman sitting quietly in the disused water tunnels along with the other thousands of refugees, all of whom were huddled together for warmth.

"If she's such a danger, why not ditch her?"

"Insurance," Kyle said. "You remember what the creepy little Vongrella said. He loves her. Maybe enough to shake off the brainwashing the Vong did to him. And if we can get him back on our side, then that will be Jor, Kale and Karia against the Vong."

At last Kanos relented, and the joint Imperial and NRDF soldiers formed a protective phalanx around the refugees. Kyle looked over at Jan. "Need a lift again, honey?"

"Are you really enjoying carrying me around that much?"

Kyle harnessed the Force to strengthen his own exhausted muscles as he gently lifted his wife. "Are you kidding? After losing you for so long, you'll be lucky if I ever let you go."

She rested her head against his chest. "You keep telling yourself that. I know you like Danni."

"Yeah, because I've had so much luck with blondes in my life," Kyle said.

"Have you ever dated a blonde?"

"Exactly! Now shut up and snuggle, sweetie. Jor may not be able to see us, but he might be able to hear us."

* * *

The other Yuuzhan Vong no longer bothered to follow Qahsel. He flew too fast for their _tsik vai_ search craft. He did not need them anyway.

His eyes swept through the surface of the planet as he flew. Already he had covered the entire surface of Yuuzhan'tar, but somehow that blasted Jedi infidel and the blasphemers continued to elude him.

He would not return to his master without their heads.

He would not return without what was his.

His flight slowed as he remembered the soft texture of her blonde hair, so unlike the coarse black strands of his adopted people. Of her soft, round flesh, again so unlike the angular, lean bodies of his new people. When he took his slave for pleasure, her body did nothing for his desire, other than to make him want to hurt her. This was the Yuuzhan Vong way, for pain was the path to understanding the gods.

But with Queesel, he felt a strange compulsion to protect. He did not lay with her in anger. When they lay together, he loved gently, as if acting out the dreams of someone else. He felt things for her the Yuuzhan Vong were not supposed to feel. The part of him dedicated to the rites of his new people railed against his softness, his emotional betrayal of the gods. And yet some small part of him wept for her absence.

Together, those separate parts came together to form a great and abiding rage that blinded him to anything else but the need to find his Dann…his Queesel. He would kill those who dared take her away from him.

His thoughts were flitting between memories of her body under him, and thoughts of the bloody retribution he would exact from those who stole her, when he heard a whisper on the wind.

He came to a complete stop, floating motionless in the air. Around him, Yuuzhan Vong ships of all descriptions flew about their daily chores—he ignored them all and concentrated. It was a name long forgotten. A name that he should have known.

_Jor._

He strained his hearing and let himself drift to where he thought the sound came from. "_…doesn't matter…"_ he heard.

He drifted closer and closer, coming to rest in the now overgrown portion of the planet-city once known as Invisec. He alighted on the edge of a vine-encrusted tower and knelt down.

"…_can fight Vong. Might not win, but we can at least fight them. We don't have anything that can hurt Jor. And as long as we have Danni, he's going to be coming after us_."

Qahsel knew that voice. Kyle Katarn, the Jedi. And they had Danni. His Danni.

He shot down like a proton torpedo through the overgrown canyons of towers and buildings, into the dark unlit depths of the lower city, until he hit the lowest layer traveling twice the speed of sound. He ripped through rock and ancient permacrete without pause, using strength, speed and heat vision until with a last burst of will he exploded into a black, unlit tunnel.

The lack of light did nothing to stop him as he began intensely scanning his surroundings. He could not see around the curves of the tunnel, but he could clearly hear a prolonged shuffling sound, as of many steps walking at the same time.

He lifted from the stagnant pool of water then ran down the center of the tunnel and followed the sound, confident that even in the darkness his eyes could find anything of note. It was not until he turned one sharp corner that he saw the distant flickering of light, and knew.

There was his Danni.

Ahead, in the group of refugees, Danni came to a stop. Other refugees stepped around her—too exhausted and desperate to summon the energy to complain. One of the dark Imperial troopers told her to keep moving in a brusque voice. She ignored him and turned around to look past the handlamps of their protectors into the dark reaches of the tunnel behind them.

Eventually soldiers started to notice and slowed, as if spooked. She was only dimly aware of Kyle as he stepped beside her with Jan Ors in his arms.

"Danni," Jan asked. "What is it?"

"He's coming," Danni said. "He's found me."

"How do you know?" Kir Kanos demanded in a harsh bark.

Kyle, though, also felt a subtle warning in the Force. He looked at Danni in surprise. "She's Force-sensitive," he said. "You can feel him, can't you?"

"He's listening to us," Danni said. "He's just out of sight. There."

She lifted her arm. As she did so, everyone turned to stare into the shadows, where a pair of bright red eyes appeared. As the red eyes approached, a shape took form around them, until Jor-El Naberrie stood before them in an organic Vong uniform, his eyes glowing brightly with hellfire.

"You thought you could escape me, infidels?" Qahsel roared. The shocking volume of his voice shook the whole tunnel and caused many of the refugees to squat down and cover their ears in pain.

"Jor…" Kyle began.

"I'm going to drink your blood and rip your hearts out in sacrifice to the gods," Qahsel said. "The Supreme Overlord will sing my praises to all."

He stepped forward while around them the soldiers tensed for action all knew they could not survive. Danni, however, simply stepped forward until she was at the forefront. "If you hurt any of them, I will kill myself," she said softly.

Her words were the only blow they could have hoped to land. The hellfire fled from his eyes as an expression of confusion crossed his features. "Kill yourself?"

"You want me, don't you?" Danni whispered. She lifted her arms, as if to show herself to him better. "Here I am. I will come with you. But you must promise not to harm any of them."

"The Supreme Overlord has decreed their deaths," Qahsel said. He sounded oddly petulant, as if a child whining to his mother.

"And there are others to do his bidding." She stepped closer to him again. "But if you wish to have me, then you will do as I ask."

"I am Qahsel of the Clan Lah. I do not take orders from a mere human!" he cried in rage so strong his body shook.

"No orders," Danni said. Her voice cracked, and though none could see her face, most realized she was crying as she spoke. "Choices. If you choose to kill them, I will choose to die with them. I am human. My fate is theirs. You told me I belonged to you. I don't. But I could belong to the one who saved my life on Helska. I could never love a Vong. But I could love a Kryptonian. I could love Jor-El Naberrie. But I will die before I ever love Qahsel Clan Lah."

Qahsel's face showed a veritable storm of emotions, one after the other, from blinding rage to soul-rending sorrow. It was all there for everyone to see. The whole time, Danni stood with a straight back, waiting patiently.

His features resolved finally to a mask of rage. "Then you will die first," he said.

Faster than even Jedi eyes could follow, Qahsel flew through the tunnel until his hand was around her neck. He lifted her one-handed easily, and simply stared up at her.

Danni did not struggle at all, though Kyle knew she had to be choking. The Force itself was thrumming in anticipation, warning him to hold the words that so desperately wanted to come out.

Then Kyle heard it: four whispered words from Danni's gasping lips. "I love you, Jor."

Qahsel dropped her as if she were on fire. She collapsed in a heap amidst the stagnant, foul-smelling water while her attacker staggered back.

With a few quick motions of his hand, Kyle ordered the soldiers and refugees to continue moving down the hall. Whatever happened, it could only help to have the civilians as far away as possible. He started to hand Jan over as well, but she stopped him. "I need to stay, too," she whispered to him.

He nodded and placed her down on a rare dry patch against the outer curve of the tunnel. Kanos and two of his shadow troopers stayed as well. Other than them, however, the only ones in the tunnel were Danni and Qahsel.

Qahsel fell to his knees and suddenly, without warning, hit himself in the face. The sound of a Kryptonian fist striking a Kryptonian face rang through the tunnel like a blaster shot. Kyle heard a stream of words came out and realized the young man was cursing himself in the Vong language, even while he reared back and struck himself again.

"Jor, please don't," Danni said, though she made no move to approach him. "Please don't hurt yourself."

He looked up, and in the dim light of their glow rods, Kyle and the others could see that his eyes had gone completely, utterly black. He spoke with a voice that was not his own, but was still painfully familiar to Kyle. "Subject has broken level three shaping protocols. Emergency protocol enacted. Subject must be destroyed."

"Brainiac," Kyle said. "Danni, Brainiac was the one who shaped him. A living computer."

Danni nodded without looking back at the Jedi and lifted herself to her feet. She staggered a little as she walked to Qahsel's side. Gently, she sat down beside him even as he struck himself again. His nose had begun to bleed and his eye was swollen from the blows.

Without hesitation, she sat on his lap, facing him and straddling his legs as she did so. Her nose was an inch from his, and she was looking into the blackened depths of his eyes. "If you hurt yourself, you'll have to hurt me as well," she whispered to him. She leaned forward until her lips brushed against his. "If you destroy yourself, you'll have to kill me as well. I'll die for Jor."

The hand reared back, and Kyle knew without question that if that fist struck, Danni would die.

He almost surged forward in alarm when the fist moved forward, but then stopped at Quee's long blonde hair. The fist began shaking.

Danni for her part simply stared into his face, recalling the young man who shared his warmth with her, who saved her life when she thought there was no hope. She leaned forward under the black gaze of his shaped eyes, and kissed him. "I love Jor-El," she whispered to him. "Please come back to me."

The shaking spread up the length of his arm, to his shoulder and his chest. Suddenly he burst to his feet so fast Danni tumbled roughly to the ground. His whole body was vibrating like a plucked baliset string.

"Jor-El?" Danni asked, hope in her voice.

Qahsel threw his head back and screamed with such visceral, agonizing power even Kyle and Kir Kanos fell to their knees. But the scream did not end. It went on and on as Jor's body continued to vibrate as if about to explode. Suddenly, there was a shattering sound, a ripping sound. A burst of heat and light, and when it cleared, Jor-El Naberrie collapsed to his knees.

Right next to Qahsel.

Danni gasped and backed up in alarm. Kyle jumped to his feet with his lightsaber in hand and Kanos and his shadow troopers had their weapons out.

Jor-El rose slowly to his feet and stared in alarm at the figure beside him.

Qahsel was Vong. From the yorik coral spurs that erupted from his skin and the vonduun crab armor covering his body, to the vicious scars that sliced his cheeks and pulled his lips back to expose sharpened teeth.

"_Do-ro'ik vong pratte_!" the Vong Qahsel cried as it reared an armored fist back and struck Jor-El in the chest. The young man went flying through the air, and then punched right through the old metal wall of the tunnel into the rock beyond.

Qahsel turned to those remaining. "_Tchurrokk Yun'tchilat!"_

"Sithspit," Kyle said.

* * *

**Author's Responses:**

Thanks to Dajohu, THe-Knight2000; Manus Dei and Prudiisten for reading and reviewing. I appreciate it, folks.

And Prudiisten--I've yet to decide who lives and who dies. I've had enough frustration with this fic that a small part of me is tempted to just kill them all. But I won't, promise.

Anyway, as some may know I lost about 40 pages that were building up to the climax. I'm steadily trying to restore them and I hope there won't be a break in the posting of the chapters weekly. I'll let you know if there are any delays.

Thanks again for reading!


	33. Me, Myself and the Vong

Author's Responses at the end.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Me, Myself, and the Vong **

"You and Anakin, huh?"

"Dad!" Karia cried. "Please, we didn't do anything."

"I'm not saying you did," Kale said.

"Leia is surprisingly okay with it," Mara said from the seat opposite Kale.

Around them the living Yuuzhan-Vong ship was completely silent. There was no hum of engines, no sound at all. They were propelled through space by the silent dovin basils, though the weapons had been removed.

"Leia would be okay with it," Kale said. "Look at her. What mother wouldn't want her son to have a girlfriend that beautiful?"

"Dad, please," Karia begged.

Kale shrugged and grinned at his wife. "So how serious are you?"

"Er, we might have…" She stopped.

"What?" Kale asked, suddenly suspicious.

"I think we may have Force-bonded," Karia admitted.

Kale sputtered. "What? Who told you that you Force-bonded?"

Mara, though, sighed. "Kale, it's all right."

"You knew?"

"Leia and I spoke about it before we left."

Kale sputtered again then stared out the window. "How'd it happen?"

"After Jor killed Jacen," Karia said, no longer blushing. "You weren't there. I was sitting there watching Jaina fight for her life. I was holding Anakin's hand and Aunt Leia and Uncle Han were sitting there with these dead expressions on their faces, and all I could think about was that I didn't belong there. That it was my brother who killed their son, and my parents who weren't where they were supposed to be to make it better. I went outside and Anakin followed. He kissed me, and I realized that I loved him. We went back in and Aunt Leia confirmed there was a bond."

"How'd they take that?"

"About like you are now," Mara said. "If you were to look, Kale, you'd see it. It's a very strong bond. At least as strong as ours."

Kale turned and studied his daughter intently, until with a gentle pass of the Force he felt the bond there, and the warm feelings of love associated with it. "Something else I missed," he whispered. "My little girl grew up."

"You were gone for almost nine months trying to help Mom," Karia said. "I was on five different campaigns. I moved a moon. Did you know that? I stabilized Hosk Station long enough to get the last of the refugees and pilots out. It's not a surprise you'd miss Anakin and me."

"Or Jor," Kale said, darkly.

Mara, though, pulled their only daughter to her in a hug. "I, for one, don't object," she said. "Anakin Solo is the most honorable, kind-hearted boy I have ever met."

"He's really cute, too," Karia added.

"He is at that," Mara agreed. "But…"

"But?"

"But," Kale finished, "if the two of you do anything more than kiss before you finish your studies I will personally make sure that Han Solo never has any grandchildren with his name."

Karia blushed. "You wouldn't!"

"No, he won't," Mara said. "But we would be very, very disappointed in you."

"I understand, Mother."

Suddenly they were there. Coruscant shot toward them as they reverted from hyperspace. But this was not the Coruscant they knew. The planet was green and sung with a twisted life sense in the Force. Life, but life manipulated and exploited to something just as unnatural as durasteel and permacrete.

It made the three Force-sensitives slightly nauseous.

"Any challenges?" Mara asked.

"No. I'm sensing the local yammosk ordering the ship down. As long as we stay passive with Force use we should be fine."

"Do you think we can actually find him?" Karia asked, voicing the question that had been on all their minds since they began the journey.

"It has to end," Kale said. "Whether now, or later, we have to end this. He is family. One way or the other, we have to save him."

"Do you think the Force will help?"

"The Force is what told me to come," Kale said. "Mara and I both. We have to be here. And now is the time. We'll find him."

Once they were in the atmosphere, the three of them stepped to the mouth of the living ship and let the wind whip around them. They were all clad in the black Kryptonian battle suits Kale obtained from Hoth. Form-fitting without being too revealing, with the El family crest on all of their chests.

"We ready?" Kale asked.

The two ladies in his life nodded the affirmative, and all three stepped out of the ship into freefall. They all faced opposite directions as they fell, looking for any sign of pursuit. There was none as they continued to fall freely into the depths of the now verdant city.

They only slowed as they reached the darkened depths between the near-endless towers. Eventually, though, they came to the bottom and alit lightly to the permacrete ground. The ground around them was damp and already covered in a thick matte of spiked grass.

The silence was shattered by a deep, coughing roar. Karia, having actually been on several campaigns, groaned. "Oh, no."

"What?" Kale asked.

"Voxyn."

Just then a pair of eight-legged monstrosities ran around a distant corner. "Master Horn led a team and wiped out the Vong cloning facility for these things, but there were still a lot already out there."

"Pretend your mom and I have been on Hoth for almost a year," Kale said. "What's a voxyn?"

"Jedi killers," Karia said.

Kale and Mara shared a long look and watched as the two voxyn ran toward them. "I'm not in the mood to play with the poochies," Mara said.

The voxyn leaped, massive jaws gaping, an ear-splitting screech emanating from their mouths as they flew forward.

Kale swung a fist over and down squarely on the head of the first beast and decapitated it with a single blow. Mara kicked the second in the head and sent the broken creature flipping end-over-end across the city valley.

Both turned to Karia, who was flushing. "Well, they looked scary!" she said.

"Moved a moon but she's afraid of eight-legged rats," Mara said.

"You're afraid of tilkrits," Kale noted.

"That's not fear, dear. That's disgust." She shuddered at even the idea of the little Naboo insects.

Their banter stopped abruptly when the Force exploded around them. It felt as if the Force itself was ripping apart violently. It was the worst thing any of them had ever sensed as Jedi. "What is that?" Mara asked.

"I don't know," Kale said. "But I know where it's coming from. Come on!"

* * *

"Sithspit," Kyle said.

The monster stood grinning at them with sharpened exposed teeth.

"What is that?" Kanos demanded.

"Well, if I'm not crazy, then that's Qahsel," Kyle said.

"I thought Jor-El Naberrie was Qahsel."

"Yep."

"Then who was the kid that just got kicked through the wall?"

"Jor-El Naberrie."

"You're insane."

"Hey, I don't have all the answers. I just work here."

The monstrous Qahsel took two menacing steps toward Danni when a blur emerged from the hole. Jor-El shot out like a missile and struck the monster midriff. "You won't hurt her!" Jor-El cried. "You won't ever hurt her!"

"Puny creature!" Qahsel roared. He slammed an armored hand against Jor-El, and the young man fell away with a cry of surprise. He was bleeding from a cut on his face—a face that bore none of the self-inflicted wounds from his lightsaber that Qahsel did just moments before he somehow split in two.

Only, he didn't have the lightsaber. Qahsel did, and the Vong lit it at that moment.

"Jor, here!" Kyle called.

The young Jedi turned, only now noticing they weren't alone. He caught the thrown lightsaber without hesitation, however, and activated it just as the green one came slicing toward his head.

Kyle ran around the two combatants as he found Danni. "You okay?"

"What's happening, Kyle?" Danni asked. She was blinking back tears. "How can this be happening?"

"Like I'd have any idea," Kyle said. He helped her back to her feet. "Come on."

Jor cried out again as a boot struck his chest and sent him stumbling back. "Weak," Qahsel growled. "Infidel. You let the enemy into your mind. You gave up. You are a fool to think you can beat us now."

"I have to!" Jor cried. He shot back, his blade whirling in intricate patterns. He actually landed a flurry of blows, only to have the lightsaber bounce off the vonduun crab armor. He danced back before a swipe of the scintillating green lightsaber.

"You will die," the creature called. "And your little whore will die with you. She is unworthy for a true warrior. I will rip out her heart in sacrifice to Yun-Yammka and feed her corpse to the yammosk."

Jor positioned himself directly in front of where Kyle was helping Danni. "You'll have to kill me first."

"That has always been assured," Qahsel said. "But I want you to see her die before you, so that you will understand your fate."

Qahsel moved as fast as light, and Jor moved just as fast. He jumped directly into the path of the green lightsaber that was flashing toward Danni and gasped as it sliced so easily through his body. Still he braced his legs against the momentum of his attacker. He wrapped his arms around the crab armor, and even with the lightsaber running through him, began to squeeze.

Qahsel roared in pain as his armor started to crack. Jor reared his own head back and cried out even as he squeezed. The armor cracked, and more. Everyone heard the distinctive snap of breaking bone. Qahsel was squirming and struggling to get away, but with both arms caught in the embrace, he could do nothing as Jor continued to squeeze his arms together until with a last, nauseating crunch, the Vong monstrosity went completely still.

Jor let go, but Qahsel was not there any more. There was only him, staring down at the still lit green lightsaber now in his hand, running through his stomach. He let it deactivate and fall, then looked up at Danni.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I do love you."

Danni pushed herself out of Kyle's arms and ran, but did not get there in time to keep Jor from falling face-first into the water. She fell to her knees at his side and rolled him out of the water. "Help me!" she begged.

"Why?" Kanos asked. "He is the enemy. If he dies, they'll be one less to face."

"That boy just killed the enemy," Kyle snapped. He held out a hand and called his own lightsaber to him as he came to kneel down beside Jor. He held a hand out over the boy's head. "Nothing we can do for him," Kyle said. "He'll either heal himself, or he'll die."

"I don't understand what happened, though?" Danni said.

"He was fighting what the Vong made him," Kyle said. "For you and I, we'd sit in a padded room shouting at ourselves. I guess when a Kryptonian has a mental breakdown, it becomes a little more interesting." He looked up at her. "Danni, what you did was probably the bravest thing I've ever seen. I just wanted you to know that."

She shook her head with a sob. "I didn't feel brave," she whispered. "Kyle, you can't imagine what the shaping was like. It was a thousand times worse than rape. They were murdering my soul. And I couldn't do a thing about it. And at night when they made him come and couple with me—I could see a little of Jor in his eyes, and I knew as bad as it was for me, it was even worse for him. I could see in his face how much he hated himself for taking me, even as I also knew he wanted to. But he was gentle, and I knew deep down he loved me. If he died, then what was the point of me living?"

Before they could say anything else, a wall ten meters away exploded to reveal three black-clad figures who all looked much, much too attractive to be in a sewer.

"About damned time you showed up, Naberrie," Kyle snapped.

"Jor!" Mara cried as she rushed forward. Karia and Kale came a second behind and knelt beside the stone-faced Danni.

"What happened?" Mara asked. "There was a tearing in the Force."

"That was your son ripping himself in two and then fighting his other half," Kyle said. He briefly described the fight.

When he was done, Kale turned stunned eyes onto Danni. "You did that for him?"

"It's not like you were here to do it for us," Danni snapped back.

Kale blinked, surprised by her vehemence.

"You saved him on Helska," Danni said, eyes flashing in anger. "But he really needed you now. He could fight back on Helska. But what they did to him here he couldn't fight. He needed you, and you weren't there."

"No," Mara whispered, "but you were. And we will love you forever for that one fact."

Danni blinked at the red-head, then her composure cracked as a tear welled in her eye. "He fought himself. He stabbed himself in the stomach. I think Qahsel is gone, but Jor's… I can't feel him any more."

"We're here now," Kale said. "We'll have a quick-strike force here in a few minutes. And then we'll take Jor home."

"I'm coming, too."

Surprisingly, it was Karia who answered. "We know," she assured the older woman. "He's yours now. We can all feel it."

"About that strike force," Kyle said. "We have a lot of people to evacuate."

"That's why we all came, even the president of the Galactic Alliance," Kale said.

Kyle looked at Karia. "You're the president? Congratulations."

"Kyle!"

The Jedi Master grinned tightly. "Come on. Did you make the call?"

"Jaina's leading the force."

Smiling broadly, Kyle reached out in the Force, reaching beyond the planet until he felt the familiar presence of his best friend's daughter. "_Heya, Sticks. How are you?_"

He felt Jaina Solo's Force-presence surge at the contact. "_Master Katarn! You're alive!"_

"_I am. We're ready for you to pick us up."_

"_Then I'm on my way. I'll hone in on your Force-presence. Where will you be?_"

"_Jaina, this is Kale. We'll be in orbit. Have the frigate stand by with an open bay."_

They all felt her affirmation. "All right," Kale said. He turned to the shadow troopers. "You're Kanos?"

"And you're the monster of Coruscant?"

"Right now I'm your president. Articles of Alliance were signed a few days ago. The Empire and Republic have combined. You're one of us now. Come on."

Kanos grumbled, "Not in this lifetime" but followed quickly along. Kale lifted Jor in his arms and they caught up with the refugees at a junction of tunnels.

"May I have your attention!" Kale called out. "I am Kale Naberrie. I have just arrived with an evacuation squad to get you off the planet. But we're going to have to be quick. I want every one of you to move as close as you can. Hug each other. And I mean it. Hug each other as tightly as you can."

Three thousand refugees and a few hundred soldiers stared at him as if he were daft, but with his continued urging they came together to form a slightly less huge clump. Kale turned to Karia. "Carry your brother."

"I will." She took her brother from his arms and watched as he and her mother lifted off from the ground and floated over the refugees.

"We're about a klick under the surface," Mara noted.

"The superlaser was heavier," Kale said noted.

"But you didn't have to cut anything."

"That's why you're here, love."

The two drifted apart while those underneath them watched with gaping jaws. Suddenly, the beautiful couple sprouted beams of laser-like heat from their eyes which sliced easily into the permacrete above them. They drifted around each other, their faces looking up, as they drew a circle around the clumping of refugees.

"I was not aware that Mara Jade Naberrie was Kryptonian," Kanos said.

"Me neither," Kyle said with awe. "Now she's just going to be unbearable."

Finally they finished. The ceiling began to groan loudly as the friction which held the huge cylinder proved not to be strong enough to keep it up. Instantly Kale and Mara were there, facing each other with smiles, as the two pushed up. The whole ceiling above the refugees began to lift, exposing a perfectly carved tunnel.

With a final push, the kilometer of soil, construction and permacrete was gone and everyone could see open sky for the first time in eight days. Kale and Mara flew back down and joined hands. "Everyone hang on tight," Kale said. He and Mara joined their Force presences so intimately it was as if there were just one of them, but one so powerful in the Force the whole of the Jedi Order would have been hard pressed to match them.

The refugees cried out in alarm as every person there lifted off the ground. In the middle of the crowd, Jan turned to Kyle. "This is fun."

"It is," Kyle agreed. "Almost as fun as being chased through Coruscant by a mutated rancor."

"We did have some good times, didn't we," Jan reminisced.

They lifted up through the kilometer-long opening and emerged suddenly into a sky buzzing with Yuuzhan Vong.

"Now we move!" Kale said to Mara.

"No, really?"

"Love you too, honey."

The two Kryptonian Jedi accelerated with a power only their kind could summon, with Karia only a few meters behind. The Yuuzhan Vong air ships tried to fire and keep up, but were left behind by the incredible acceleration.

They left the atmosphere and could see from the splashes of light that the quick attack force had already arrived. Kale and Mara flew through the void as fast as they could manage while simultaneously maintaining the Force bubble around the civilians. They could no longer actually speak without air, but they were so closely attuned in the Force they did not need to.

In the Force, Kale let his wife know that he could not have done it without her, and that she was his very soul.

Through the Force, Mara assured him that he was a sentimental fool, and that when they got back she was making love to him so vigorously they would break the floor.

They could see that the Alliance frigate was already under heavy fire, but was still staying strong. They flew straight into the open landing bay with all their passengers.

As soon as they were in air, they could hear the refugees crying out in shock from their passage. They could also see Jaina running toward them. "We've been flanked!" she called as she ran. "We can't break through!"

"Sounds like a job for a Naberrie," Mara noted.

Karia meanwhile let Jor rest on the floor of the ship. "Or three."

"Two," Kale said. "Stay with your brother. He needs family right now. We'll take care of it. I'm feeling a little destructive."

With a nod to Jaina and their children, the two flew back out into space. Kale pointed at one of the analogue cruisers. Mara nodded, while Kale went to another. The Vong knew they were a threat and immediately tried using a combination of gravimetric shielding and plasma fire to slow them, but the nearest worldship was still on the opposite side of the planet.

Of course, Kale could see the tip of one of its spokes, so he knew it was coming. He grabbed his cruiser and swung it like a kilometer-long stick, knocking three smaller ships clear of the Alliance ship's path. Nearby, Mara was making similar progress.

Perhaps he was frustrated over his son's injuries, but Kale didn't just stop with the one cruiser. In fact he threw the ship end-over-end into another cruiser and then attacked a third, tossing it into the planet's atmosphere with sufficient force that it cracked in half upon re-entry.

He felt and even saw his wife taking out her frustrations in a similar vein, until they realized there were no ships in their immediate area. With that chore done, the two flew back to the Alliance cruiser.

As soon as they were aboard, the ship turned and left the system at top speed.

* * *

sp

**Author's Responses:**

Thanks to whateveritis12; new age expirment; The-Knight2000; Roosterman71; dajohu; wawaboy2; Exodus5; Team503 and Manus Dei for your reviews and comments. I greatly appreciate the turnout!

Q: Just a request for who dies, please no more Solo's.

A: Although I usually don't like giving plot points away, I am fairly sure at this time that no more Solo children will die.

Q: Wasn't expecting that, a Vong/Kryptonian hybrid.

A: The split between Jor and Qahsel, as seen in this last chapter, was directly taken from the split between Superman and Clark Kent in Superman III. I understand if no one remembers that movie as it wasn't that memorable.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing!


	34. Forgiveness

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Forgiveness**

"That's a lot of ships," Mara noted when they returned to Alderaan.

Kale nodded in silence. Through the porthole of the medical frigate that was still treating many of the survivors they saved, they could see thousands of ships crowding the skies over the still pristine planet.

Many of the ships were still finishing the clean-up from the battle that occurred after the fall of Coruscant. However, there were enough ships gathered to look frankly intimidating. The doors of the private medical suite opened and a still thin but alert Jan Ors stepped in with Kyle Katarn by her side.

She looked only briefly at the perfectly still form of Jor-El, and beside the bed, Karia sleeping, before she turned her eyes to Kale. "I've been in communication with my new boss. Secretary Solo was gracious enough to let me know what was happening while I was away. I understand you already have a holo conference scheduled."

Kale grimaced. "Yes, I do. Thanks for reminding me."

"And Jor?"

Kale stopped. "What about Jor?"

"Will he be facing a trial?"

Kale clenched a fist. "You saw what happened."

Jan nodded. In a kind tone, she said, "Kale—Mr. President—I do not ask to hurt you. I'm asking because others most certainly will. We know what happened, but the public does not. And Jor killed a lot of people as Qahsel. A trial may actually be exactly what we need to clear him."

"Unless they find him guilty," Kale said darkly.

"We don't have all the judicial codes written yet," Mara snarled. "What law would we try him under? For that matter why should we bother? He's a Jedi, subject to the Jedi Council."

"Jedi code does not supersede Alliance law," Jan said. "According to Leia that much was written into the articles."

"She's right," Kale said. "It was one of the few items Pellaeon, Daala and Thrawn were unwilling to compromise on. In return for the full autonomy of the Jedi Order, knights are not wholly immune from Alliance law. Local code, yes. But on the galactic scale—a Jedi must answer for any crimes committed."

"We are not going to put our son on trial."

"Yes, we are," a weak voice said.

Everyone turned to see Jor lying in bed, eyes open and staring at the ceiling. Karia was awake as well now, and holding his hand. Without looking at them, Jor said, "I need to face a trial. To answer for my crimes."

Mara rushed to his side and enveloped him in a hug. "Oh stars, I thought we'd lost you!"

"You did," Jor said softly. "I remember everything. Everything I did."

Mara reared back as if struck, just as Kale arrived. "You remember?" she whispered. "Everything?"

The comment caught Kale as well and he froze for a moment. "We…we didn't think you would retain your memories," Kale admitted. "Many other victims of shaping don't."

Kale and his stone stared at each other for the longest time, brilliant blue against brilliant green, until it was Kale who dropped his eyes. "I'm sorry I failed you," he said.

Jor snorted without humor. "You didn't kill Jacen."

"No. I just failed to save Jor." Kale's voice cracked a little. "I failed my only son when he needed me most."

"You're not a god, Dad." Though Jor-El spoke quietly, his tone was dark. "You never were. You think you can save everyone if you try hard enough, and then when you can't you go hide and pout about it. But you'll never be able to save everyone. Never be able to protect everyone. And you can't protect me now. I need to be tried for what I've done."

"Jor…" Mara started.

"He's right," Jan said from her spot by the window. "If the full facts of the case are presented, it might help ease a lot of the public resentment. This alliance is very fragile right now, Mr. President. If you are seen publicly sheltering a son who aided the enemy in destroying countless New Republic ships, killing hundreds of thousands of New Republic soldiers and assisting in the conquest of Coruscant, the political consequences could be severe. Possibly enough to fracture the Alliance before it even begins."

As Jan spoke, Kale continued to stare intently at his son. Mara started to argue the point, even while her son and husband stared at each other. Finally, Kale nodded. "All right," he said. "We'll hold an arraignment to determine if there is sufficient cause for a trial. New Republic law. We'll want to appear as neutral as possible, so Imperial judges. When he is found not-guilty, there can be no question."

"And if I am found guilty," Jor said, "there can be no pardons."

"Jor…"

"Dad, you have no idea how much blood is on my hands," Jor said, showing a spark of emotion for the first time since waking. "If they find me guilty, then I will serve whatever punishments they think right."

"It wasn't you who did those things," Kale said through clenched teeth.

"It was a part of me," Kale said. "I was there. I've got to do this."

The doors opened and a lieutenant snapped to attention. "Mr. President, Madam First Lady, the Secretaries of State have requested your presence, sir."

"Go," Jor said. He squeezed his sister's hand. "Karia's here."

With a last hug, Mara left her son. Kale stood frozen for a moment, before he reached down and grabbed Jor's foot. Without another word, he joined his wife and the two left. Jan Ors walked quietly after them, until only Karia and Kyle Katarn remained.

"Master," Jor said with a nod to the elder Jedi.

"How are you feeling?"

"Broken."

Kyle grabbed a seat and sat down next to the bed. "You're going to have a hard time in front of you, but you will make it through."

Jor said nothing. His gaze sank down to the plain white sheets. "How am I going to live with my cousin's blood on my hands?" he whispered. "How can I ever look at Aunt Leia again?"

"You will never be a Jedi if you don't," Kyle said.

Jor snorted. "Like I could ever be a Jedi again."

Kyle reached out and took a hand. "You've been through hell, Jor, so you get a little self-pity. If I were a kind, gentle person, I'd remind you that you never stopped being a Jedi underneath the monster they forced you to be. But I'm not that kind or gentle. I pulled my starving, horrified wife out of a group about to be sacrificed to some barbaric god. So I'll say this instead. You are a Jedi because I am your master and I say you are. And when this trial is over, you will continue your training, or so help me I will have your mother kick your ass from one side of the galaxy to the other. Clear?"

"Yes, Master."

Kyle smirked and patted his hand. "And the first step of that training, Jor, will be to see Leia."

* * *

The newly born Galactic Alliance received the news of a raid on Coruscant with overwhelming support. Holoshills interviewed the survivors and ate up the story of how a Jedi and an Imperial Commando led them through the underlevels of Coruscant until the President and First Lady personally flew them to safety. It was the stuff of legends already.

More somber was the news that the President's son had turned to serve the Vong, and was now facing a trial.

"This is a difficult time for our family," the President said with his wife by his side at the conference. "Our son was abducted from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and forced into his role. However, we realize that justice must be had. I've asked Secretary of State Natasi Daala to appoint three former Imperial magistrates to review the facts and circumstances of my son's supposed defection in an arraignment, in order to determine if a further trial is warranted. Since the Judicial Codes are still in the draft stages, New Republic law will be used in the case. I thank you for your help, and ask for your patience as we work through this difficult time."

"Will your son be under arrest during the trial?" a holoreporter asked.

The President smiled sadly. "My son is Kryptonian. There are no facilities that could hold him. However, he has given his word to remain and go through the trial, and to abide by the results of the hearing. As much as his mother and I wish to protect him, we will abide by the rule of law and, as much as we can, his wishes in this matter."

* * *

Jor wandered alone in the Palace of Aldera. He voluntarily wore a tracking cuff for propriety's sake, but everyone knew he was not going to flee. The magistrates had already been appointed and were interviewing witnesses. Jor himself had already given his testimony over the course of two days.

Now, though, so late in the evening, the halls were quiet and there were no questions.

He thought of Danni, and what she did for him. He had not seen her since they left Coruscant, and he was frankly afraid to. When he realized that he loved her—and that he would do anything for her—he also realized in an intimate and cruel fashion exactly what he had done to her. The thought burned at him, knowing that in essence he had raped her.

As much as he wanted to see her and beg her for forgiveness, a part of him hoped she would flee far away from him. It seemed he was destined to hurt the ones he loved.

He was not walking in any particular direction or with any particular goal. He was moving for the sake of the movement itself. But it seemed the Force itself had other ideas. He emerged onto a patio and saw a slim figure leaning on a rail overlooking the beautiful, silver towers of the city. They shone with their own internal light, while at the same time bathing under the brilliant starlight and the red glow of a nearby nebula.

"Hello, Jor," a hauntingly familiar voice said.

Jor's throat closed up with grief and fear, even while his feet pulled him forward almost of their own accord. He came even with her at last and looked at the profile of Leia Solo. She had dropped her other names when she assumed the Secretary of State position.

"I always enjoyed looking at the sky at night from here," the princess and Jedi Master said.

"Yes, ma'am."

She turned at last to face him, and Jor's knees suddenly buckled. Not through any power from her, but through a weakness in him. "I can still see my son's blood on your hands," Leia whispered.

It was like a blow to Jor, and he bent over until his head touched the cold tiles near her feet. "I'm so sorry," he said whispered.

"You never did like him," Leia said. "And frankly you frightened him, I think. He always knew you were holding back, and it scared him to think you might be stronger than he was. But in the end he was the stronger. He died as one with the Force. You killed his body, but his soul was triumphant."

Jor could not speak; instead he sobbed in silence.

"I cannot forgive you, Jor-El," Leia said. She spoke in an emotionless voice, as if lecturing a student. "Not yet, perhaps not ever. You took my son away from me. Perhaps some day, but not yet."

With that, the Jedi Master turned and walked away while Jor lay on the tiles, weeping under the silver-red light of the brilliant night sky.

* * *

Han was sitting at his desk in their suite pouring over holos. He had a com open and was talking with Admiral Thrawn and General Antilles. He smiled up at her as she walked in. He looked tired but determined, and she chose not to interrupt.

Instead, she went to their bedroom and prepared for bed. She tried reading a few passages of the proposed bill of rights, but she found herself going over the same passages again and again. She just couldn't get the image of Jor crying out of her head. She felt guilty for some reason, despite her justified anger.

She decided to meditate and sank quickly into the Force. However, all she could see was the face of Darth Vader behind the mask, as he looked in his last message to her.

She opened her eyes and thumbed her com for the palace staff. "Yes, Highness?" the evening assistant said.

"Is the droid R2-D2 at my summer palace?"

"No, Highness. He was brought here two days ago."

"On whose orders?"

"The Secretary of Defense, madam."

Han, the old pirate. She fought the smile. "Please have the droid report directly to my bedroom."

"At once."

Less than ten minutes later the droid entrance to the bedroom slid up and an all-too-familiar droid rolled in with a series of happy beeps. "If only we humans aged as gracefully as you droids," she said with a fond smile. "Hello, Artoo. Do you remember me?"

The astromech droid made a series of affirmative chirps.

"Artoo, I'm going to put a data chip in your reader. I was told this chip contained a key that would allow you to access some long-term memories." The droid virtually hopped on its short legs.

She slipped the chip in, and a moment later R2-D2 straightened and went completely still. Its holo-emitter blinked, and she found herself staring at the interior of a ship. She saw a little boy with blond hair cuddled under a blanket. A beautiful girl in a Naboo dress was kneeling beside him, talking softly.

Next she saw that boy in a star fighter of some kind, fighting against droid ships. She knew from her history of Naboo that this had to be the infamous Trade Federation blockade that her very mother overcame. The boy was very young to be in a ship, though.

Then it struck her. This boy was her father.

The images flitted by, skipping time and showing them older now. Anakin stared at the girl with intense eyes so full of longing it made Leia blush. Then came scenes of picnics and quiet meals, of fighting deadly foes and moments of intensity and love. A wedding on a terrace. A woman's hand holding a prosthetic replacement. A woman beautiful in her pregnancy and a young Anakin Skywalker waiting on her hand and foot with a huge, goofy grin on his face.

An Anakin Skywalker with orange-tinted eyes, yelling at her. Choking her with a gesture that would become famous throughout the Empire.

A fight between Jedi. She watched, stunned at the skill and power both her father and Obi-Wan showed. The fight was recorded from a distance. Artoo must have been far from the action, but from his position he zoomed in and recorded everything from a panoramic perspective. It was a fight won with experience and wisdom over brute power. She watched as her father screamed in agony as he burned.

And she watched her mother telling a stunned and saddened Obi-Wan that there was still good in him.

The images ended, and Leia realized that she was crying. She felt an arm around her shoulders and looked in surprise to see Han there. His face was open, his smile gentle. He didn't say anything, other than to kiss her forehead.

Her Han.

"I left Jor crying on the tenth-floor balcony," she whispered. "I said I couldn't forgive him."

"He's still there," Han confirmed. "Security checked in and I told them to leave the boy as is."

"He killed our son, Han," Leia said with a catch in her throat.

"He didn't, Leia. That wasn't him. That was a mockery of him made by those damned Vong. We both know that Jor would never do anything like that."

"His own father warned me he had the potential."

Han shrugged. "I had the potential to be a smuggler and criminal. Instead I chose to work my ass off in the Imperial Academy and make myself better than my origins. Hell, my children are the grandchildren of Darth Vader. Just think of what they could have turned out like. Just like the kid in those holovids did."

"You didn't end up murdering your wife."

"Yeah, like I could anyway," Han muttered. "Doesn't matter. The man we saw at the end wasn't the man we saw at the beginning. Even I saw those eyes. He became what the Emperor made him, just like Jor became what the Vong made him. And you heard your mother. She forgave him despite all he did."

"You think I should forgive Jor?"

"I think it's eating you up inside, knowing he needs that forgiveness so bad. Did you watch his testimony? What the Vong and that Brainiac thing did to him?"

"I'm not sure I can," Leia admitted with a shake of her head.

Han hugged her tightly. "I've never seen you run into anything you couldn't handle, sweetheart. You're the strongest person I've ever met."

"I'm not sure I'm strong enough for this."

Han stood suddenly and held out his hand. "He was my son, too."

She looked up at her husband of these many years, and blinked back tears. "I love you, Han."

"I know you do, sweetheart." He smirked. "And you're damned lucky to have me. Come on."

The two walked hand-in-hand through the darkened palace until they reached the terrace. Just as Han said, Jor was still there, laying flat on his stomach with his forehead resting against his crossed arms, as if in penance to the stars.

The Solos walked across the tiles, Han's boots clicking with every step, until they stood before him.

Without looking up, Jor said, "I wanted to die on Coruscant for what I did."

Leia knelt down and gently touched the fine black hair that covered his head. Jor looked up, and his face was marred by heavy tears. Slowly, he pushed himself to a sitting position. "I hope they find me guilty," he added.

Leia looked up at her husband, then back to the son of the man she claimed as her cousin. Without a word she reached out a hand to the back of his neck, and pulled him forward. He came without resistance, and the moment his head touched her shoulder he began crying again. His whole body shook with his tears.

"I'm so sorry," he managed to gasp. "I'm so sorry."

Han knelt down, and hugged them both. Then he stood and walked away, leaving the two of them like that. He was very discreet in how he wiped his eyes. He was not entirely surprised to find Mara Naberrie standing at the edge of the doorway, her brilliant green eyes moist.

"You're a good man," she whispered.

"Yep," he agreed without smiling. "He killed my boy, Mara. But not forgiving him was hurting my wife. We may forgive him, but we'll never have what we had before. We will never forget."

"I know," Mara said. "And neither will Jor. Nothing will be the same again. But maybe, just maybe, we can make things better."

Han shrugged. "That's not my job. My job is to first make sure my wife is happy. Then after that to kill as many Vong as I can."

"Like I said, you're a good man, Han Solo."

He nodded curtly and stepped past her. Mara remained, staring at her only son and the mother of the boy he murdered.

* * *

**Author's Responses**

I'm thrilled to be able to say that this story one several awards on the force dot net Jedi Council Forums, including:

Best Alternate universe

Best Action

Best Drama

Best Crossover

and a tie for Best Ensemble Cast.

So, thank you to all my readers.

**Radar666**: I appreciate the honest feedback. Although I don't like to talk too much about the writing experience of a story until after it's done, the truth is that Children of the Red Sun has been the most difficult piece of fanfiction I've written so far. My disdain for the NJO series really made me hesitant to begin this story in the first place, but the idea of seeing the consequences to Kale's decision at the end of LORS really made me feel I had to write it.

That said, I think I gave an unbalanced effort. I felt myself initial constrained by the NJO and didn't really get things started until I actually passed the point in the books I'd read. I'm hoping that from this point forward I'm able to finish the story in a more consistent manner.

**Dajohu**: I thought that was a funny line myself--it was inspired by the not so good "My Super Ex-Girlfriend".

**The-Knight2000**: There will be some more Kale Mara superbattles to come!

**Exodus5**: Well, as you can see, he did. And Brainiac has a very effective back up plan, but I'm not going to tell you about it just yet.

**Manus Dei**: The Kale/Jor fight was actually going to be my first approach, but then I thought this way would be mroe in keeping with the story. Plus it had the side benefit of being a nice little homage to the movies.


	35. Guilt and Innocence

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Guilt and Innocence **

The entire Naberrie family sat in a pew in the crowded conference room of the palace as the three Imperial magistrates stepped in. Behind the First Family were members of the executive cabinet and holonet reporters. Several Jedi were in attendance as well.

Jor sat in utter silence, staring into space. His mother held his hand on one side. His father simply sat on the other. Karia sat on the other side of her mother.

Everyone stood as the magistrates took their seats.

"Good morning," the senior magistrate said. He was human, as were the other two. "We were tasked with a singularly unique job of determining whether, in this new age, a young man had committed crimes sufficient for trial under New Republic law. What is unique, of course, is that I and my colleagues are not New Republic advocates. Rather, we are magistrates under the former Empire. However, we understand the reasons for this inquest and respect the President's desire for true impartiality concerning his son.

"For the past two weeks we have been listening to testimony and examining all the facts available. The facts are as follows:

"Ten days after the second massed invasion of the New Republic by the Yuuzhan Vong, a being that was later identified as an artificial Kryptonian entity known as the Brain Interactive Construct, or BRAINIAC, using the alias Reck Desh, entered the Jedi temple and assaulted several Jedi, including Jor-El and Karia Naberrie. Several Jedi were killed in this assault, and Padawan Jor-El Naberrie was stabbed with a unique lightsaber.

"During his imprisonment, Jor-El Naberrie was subjected to a multitude of Vong mind-warping techniques, and was finally infected by an unknown element from this BRAINIAC that essentially suppressed his personality and created the persona known as Qahsel.

"During the Battle of Gyndine, Qahsel was responsible for almost twenty percent of all New Republic losses and personally killed Jedi Knight Jacen Solo, his own cousin by adoption and the son of Secretary of State Leia Solo.

"Qahsel actively participated in the fall of Coruscant but was eventually fought off by his parents, President Kale Naberrie and First Lady Mara Naberrie.

"During a raid by Jedi Master Kyle Katarn and Commander Kir Kanos, Qahsel's slave companion was rescued and taken to safety. During the following chase, Qahsel appeared to have a mental breakdown, the details of which will not be shared at this time. This breakdown appeared to restore the original personality matrix of Jor-El Naberrie, but also resulted in what appeared to be, to all witnesses present, an attempt at suicide. We also understand that Mr. Naberrie himself specifically requested this trial, and has cooperated in every respect."

The magistrate cleared his throat and reached for a glass of water. "While there are some differences in the application of criminal law between the Empire and New Republic, there are also many similarities. In determining whether or not there is sufficient cause to take Jor-El Naberrie to trial for his actions, we asked ourselves one question: was Jor-El Naberrie in full possession of his faculties after his abduction and torture at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong?

"To further understand this question, we located and received testimony from and evidence concerning so-called 'shaped' prisoners of the Vong. It is clear that the Vong shaping techniques strip personal will, and quite often completely destroy the personality of the victim. During the Battle of Gyndine, Qahsel declared that all Jedi were an abomination, which is a belief held by the Yuuzhan Vong. During the escape from Coruscant, it appears that when his 'shaping' began to falter, some form of programming actually caused him to hurt himself with the ultimate attempt of ending his own life. In point of fact, he came perilously close to doing just that."

The magistrate looked out across the room until his eyes locked on Naberrie. "Young man, I cannot possibly imagine the anguish and pain you feel at this moment. But even the most ardent opponents of the Naberries in the Empire would be hard pressed to say you were guilty of any crime. We three most certainly cannot. It is the decision of this inquest that Jor-El Naberrie was a victim of Yuuzhan Vong shaping practices and was not in control of his own faculties while serving the Vong. It is the opinion of this tribunal that Mr. Naberrie was as much a victim as those who fell under the power of Qahsel, and that there is no proof of willful or knowing collaboration with the enemy. This inquest is dismissed."

Jor did not speak. He simply bowed his head. Kale put an arm around his shoulder and held him, while the rest of the courtroom broke out in loud discussion. Many were not pleased, but many seemed to understand.

"I love you, son," Kale whispered. "Let's go home."

* * *

"They're going for Kuat next," Han said. "With the fall of Fondor, it's our only major functioning shipyard."

"I concur," Thrawn said. His red eyes blinked once. "And they are going to attack very soon. Possibly within days."

"Costs and benefits of defending it?" Kale asked.

"So lopsided as to be ludicrous," Thrawn said. "As Secretary Solo has pointed out, it is our only major functioning shipyard this side of the old treaty line. It is now responsible for over 80% of all your capital ships. It is an essential asset that we cannot afford to lose."

Kale looked to Han who nodded. The president looked further down the table at the assembled generals. He recognized one or two faces from his own time with the Rebel Alliance. Though older Imperial personnel and New Republic personnel each wore their respective uniforms, he knew a new uniform was being designed by both sides and within six months there would be nothing to distinguish the two sides.

"Can we hold it while maintaining defenses here and at other critical points?"

"Within reason," Han said. "If they throw everything they have at us, then probably not."

"We can expect at least one worldship," Thrawn said. "Possibly two. Intelligence suggests they now have fourteen such craft."

"And as of yet we don't have an effective counter," Kale noted.

"The philosophy of the new Empire veered away from super-dreadnaught-sized craft such as the old _Executor-_class star destroyers," Thrawn said. "Even so, there is one legacy weapon that we could possibly use."

Across the table, Secretary of State Daala cleared her throat. Kale stared at the woman, who shifted uncomfortably. "We did not actually want to admit having possession of it," she said. "The Empire frankly did not want to enter into another cold war with the Republic."

Han sat up a little. "What are we talking about?"

"We have another _Eclipse_," Pellaeon finally said. "In the Deep Core, in orbit around the remnants of Byss."

Beside Daala, the other secretary of state pulled two shaking hands off the table. "You have another super-laser enabled dreadnaught?" she asked with forced calm. "We destroyed the _Eclipse_ during the civil war when Byss and the Emperor's clone were destroyed."

"There is an old saying in the Empire, Madam Secretary," Pellaeon said with a wry smile. "Why build one, when you can build two for twice the cost. There were two ships built, one at the Kuat yards we are currently discussing, and one in the Deep Core facility known as the Maw. The Maw was in fact where much of the theoretical work for the superlasers was conducted."

"We destroyed that facility," Han said. "Cost us a lot."

"Indeed," Daala said. "I remember." She smiled to ease any sting in her words. "The second ship was removed from the facilities after the destruction of Byss. It was felt by the Moff Council at the time that the Deep Core was still the safest location. It was finished, and then essentially mothballed after the Bastion Accords were signed. We did not admit possession for the very reason that the accords prevented such weapons. But the cost of dismantling it was at the time beyond our reach."

"It's too pat," Kale finally said. "Hundreds of billions of sentient beings have died in this war, and now comes along a ship that could make an immediate impact. Why is this just now being revealed? Everything has a cost. What is the cost of using this ship?"

"No cost," Thrawn said. "Other than any moral or ethical qualms. No, the main problem has simply been that the ship is haunted."

The entire table stared at the Chiss admiral.

"Excuse me?" Kale said.

Again, it was Pellaeon who spoke. "The Reborn Emperor's spirit never left Byss. As soon as the ship made orbit, the spirit evidently chose to inhabit the ship. Personnel who remained were killed. We've not had anyone step foot on the thing in eight years."

Han shook his head. "You're trying to tell me the Empire didn't use the most powerful single weapon in the galaxy because it was haunted?"

"Han," Leia said, softly. "You never felt the power of the Emperor."

The table went very quiet. "I forget that you have, my dear," Pellaeon said, gently. "I myself only ever saw his public face. In fact, none of us here have actually seen the Sith aspect of the Emperor save yourself, President Naberrie, and his lovely wife. But rest assured, Secretary Solo, that this is not a laughing matter. I personally sent an entire legion of my finest soldiers to secure that blasted ship, and not a single man survived. I listened to them screaming over the com for almost two hours. I still have nightmares about it. Though it may be the spirit of the Emperor, his actions show he has lost himself to madness."

Conversations continued as Kale sat at the head of the table, thinking. "Admiral Thrawn," he finally said, "what is the minimum crew necessary to run the ship in wartime conditions?"

"The specifications call for a full crew of almost 700,000; however, it can function with a minimum crew compliment of 88,500. We must also take into account that it has been fully powered down and idle for almost a decade. It does not even have sufficient hypermatter to power any weapons, which was also intentional. To fully power it for battle would require a minimum of five hundred million tons."

"It was definitely not efficient," Pellaeon noted. "Yet another reason not to use it. You see, before the Accords we simply did not have the resources to fully fuel and stock such a monster. But given the nature of the enemy face, I don't see we have any choice."

"Han, do we have the resources?" Kale asked.

"That much hypermatter will be hard to come by, but we can probably scrounge it. We may have to divert it from civilian resources, but we can do it. As for the crew—this might be more difficult. We're experiencing man-power shortages just with the ships we already have. Our recruiting efforts have had a spike with your trick on Coruscant, but those kids are still in basic training."

"What if we strip the crew from another ship? Perhaps Traest Kre'fey's ship?"

Pellaeon snorted. "Palpatine would have had a stroke if he discovered Bothans crawling all over his prized warship."

"All the more reason to do it," Kale said. "But we have to deal with this haunting first."

"Which means Jedi," Leia said. "Powerful Jedi."

"You're not going," Han said.

Leia opened her mouth to protest, but Kale agreed quickly. "Leia, you're not the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order now, you're the Secretary of State. We are going to need you here."

"There aren't that many Jedi I would trust to go against the Emperor's spirit."

"I could do it," Mara said. "But it would be better to have help."

"What about Kyle?" Han asked.

"He just got Jan back," Leia said.

"From what I saw, I think Jan would make him go," Kale noted. He turned to look at this wife. "You think you could face him again?"

"I'm not the same woman I was when he tried to crush me," Mara said.

"No, you're definitely not that," he agreed with a fond smile.

"I would recommend several Jedi to be safe," Thrawn said. "I myself will accompany you, as will Commander Kanos."

"Mara, you and Kyle will lead the Jedi," Kale said. "Take whoever else you think you need. Han, please start tapping those hypermatter reserves. Can we get it all in cruiser?"

"Not a chance," Han said. "But we can probably get all the hypermatter into one fuel ship. I'd recommend keeping the crew on the _Ralroost_. It can make it back to Alderaan with a minimum compliment while the rest board the _Eclipse_."

"I concur," Thrawn said. "And in the meantime, Mr. President, with your permission I will work with Secretary Solo to begin drawing up battle plans for the defense of Kuat."

"Very good. Thank you all."

* * *

Two women sat on a sidewalk café looking over a stark, beautiful range of blue mountains capped with snow. Each wore a heavy sweater. There the similarities ended. Jan Ors was still skeletally thin despite nutrient supplements. Her dark hair was still lank but doing better with her improved diet. There was a distinct difference in the thickness between her artificial arm and her real one.

Opposite her sat Danni Quee. Danni was thin but not overly so, made whole by her Vong captors. Her golden hair shone brightly compared to Ors' black locks. But though they looked like exact opposites, they shared a bond of pain that made them sisters.

"Have you and Kyle…"

"Not yet," Ors said. It was an intensely personal question, or should have been. But the two had gone through so much that neither considered anything private any more, at least not with each other. "He laughs and says I'm too bony."

"He knows what happened to you?"

"He's a Jedi. More than that—even before he learned the Force, he knew me. I was the one who recruited him to the Rebellion, but it always seemed like he knew me better than I knew myself. And even if he didn't know for sure, he could guess. A thousand desperate naked slaves thrown together into a small room and told they would die in a few days—it's not surprising the males decided to take advantage of the women first." Her voice was empty of bitterness, but Danni could see the rage in her eyes.

"There was a Wookiee behind me," she said. "I think that's the only reason it didn't happen to me. At least until…" She stopped and sipped her tea.

"I understand he spoke with Leia Solo," Jan said carefully.

"What happened?"

"I understand that he asked for forgiveness, and eventually received it."

Danni let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "That's good."

"Danni…."

"You want to know the saddest thing?" Danni said. "When he stabbed himself with the lightsaber, I really wanted him to die. I know that's horrible, and it's not like you might think. I didn't want to punish him. I saw what he did to that Vong slave of his, and I knew he was much more gentle with me. I think maybe there was some part of him in there that maybe loved me, or thought he did. But when he stabbed himself, all I could think was that he deserved peace. That maybe if he died, he would escape having to deal with killing Jacen. Of having to deal with the blood of all those he killed. A part of me is sorry he survived. I guess that makes me a bad person."

Jan reached across the table and took her hand. "I don't think so," she said. "And I also think it would be perfectly understandable if you never want to see him again."

Danni hiccupped and looked away, toward the mountains, for a very long time. She sniffed once and returned to her cup of tea. "I thought I was going to die on Helska. Then they throw this young man at me. He was so completely beautiful. Stripped him down like me, and from head to foot he was the most attractive man I'd ever seen, even if he was just a kid. We were in that cave for a week, spooning to keep warm in a Force-bubble he maintained. He did not once try to force me, and at one point I probably would have let him if he tried. He was the single most honorable person I'd ever met. I realized afterward that he could probably have escaped by himself at any time, but he stayed to protect me."

She looked at Jan. "He's only a kid. But if he had been even a few years older, I would have taken him to bed. But they took this beautiful boy and they turned him into a monster, and then they gave me to him. It was like they reached into my mind, took my fantasy, and raped it into something horrible. Those bastards!"

She slammed the table before regaining her composure. "And on top of everything else, he killed Jacen." She looked down into her lap. "He was gentle. And they made me willing. But it was still rape."

"Yes, it was."

Danni lowered her head, and with a growl, said, "Then why can't I stop thinking about him?"

"Because even though the Vong forced you, a small part of you wanted it," Ors said, utterly without mercy. "And even though the Vong made him a monster, you knew even then that a part of him loved you."

"You're a nerfherder," Danni said in an empty tone.

"So I've been told."

They were still holding hands, and Danni's grip grew desperate. "Jan, I don't think I can face him again."

"Frankly, I don't think you can afford not to," Jan said. "If nothing else, give him a good kick where it hurts. That may be the only place you can get his attention."

Danni snorted through her tears. "I don't want to hurt him."

"That's the problem," Jan said. "He hurt you, but you also know he was a victim and was hurt himself. So you have all this anger, and no place to put it. That's why you need to see him, Danni. The anger will just make you sick. Get it out and move on with your life."

"I'll think about it," Danni said at last.

"It's a start, I suppose," Jan said. "One suggestion, though, before you do anything."

"What's that?"

"Get really, really drunk first."

* * *

The planet was brimming with preparation. Ship crews were getting brief rotations on the planet for a bit of rest and relaxation, with the realization they would be flying out soon. Alliance soldiers, still in equal mixes of NRDF and Imperial uniforms, went through their joint training exercises. Fighter pilots trained on simulators, while new recruits were given crash courses on running the weapons of war.

On the night before Mara and Kyle Katarn were scheduled to leave, Danni Quee wandered the Aldera Palace in a rather haphazard manner. Taking her only true friend's advice, Danni was roaring drunk on Corellian whiskey. She knew she was drunk, and suspected the weakening of her inhibitions would be the only way she would have the courage to give one Jor-El Naberrie a piece of her mind.

The palace directory told her where he was. It was a small room just inside the First Family set of suites. Well, small by palace standards. She knew he was in the room—he had told her she was Force-sensitive—and in her drunken state she wondered if that's why she could feel him.

She walked in without announcing herself.

She found Jor hovering just over the floor, his eyes closed, his legs in lotus position. He wore nothing but a pair of briefs. His eyes snapped opened when she barged in and the sight of her shattered his concentration. He fell to the floor with a loud thump and simply stared at her in confusion.

"I've come to kick your ass," she announced. "Stand up!"

Surprisingly, he did, scrambling to his feet as if she were a superior officer. As he did so, she saw for the first time the lines of scars running up his stomach. She already knew about the scars on his face, but for some reason she never noticed them on his stomach. Knowing what she did about his physiology, she suspected they hurt a great deal. In fact, it was likely they continued to hurt. Why would a Kryptonian heal like a human when they should never have been subject to damage in the first place?

She stopped a foot away from him, reared her hand back, and slapped him as hard as she could. The blow left her hand almost numb and resounded through the room like a gunshot. She followed that up with a well-placed kick to his stomach that made her stumble back.

He stood staring at her, his eyes moist. "I want to hurt you!" she declared.

"You are," he said. His voice was thick with unshed tears.

"Good!" she said. "Because you hurt me, you nerf-herding bastard!" She swung her fist and hit his stomach. He didn't move enough so she swung again, then again and again. She leaned her head on his broad chest and kept swinging until her knuckles were bloody. She hardly noticed until she felt two strong hands grab her arms.

"You can hurt me any way you need," he whispered, "except by hurting yourself. There's enough blood on me."

Indeed, she could see her blood on his muscular abdomen from her split knuckles. He lifted the knuckles up and blew on them. His breath was as cold as ice and instantly dulled the pain. He let go the moment she tugged, and stepped away. She stayed frozen in place, staring at the frost that had formed over the knuckles.

Suddenly he was back, looming in front of her. He had a cylinder in his hand—she recognized it as the green lightsaber he stabbed himself with on Coruscant. He was handing it to her.

"What…"

"I don't want to ever be a monster again," he said. "I could see it in dad's eyes. What I became was why he stayed on Naboo. He was always afraid he would lose control and become a monster, and that's what happened to me. I don't want to be a monster, Danni." His voice cracked and a lone tear ran down from those stunning green eyes of his. "I don't want to ever hurt you again. So I want you to keep this. Master Katarn will show you how to use it, if you want. You keep it, and if I ever hurt you—if I ever become a monster—you use it. Please don't let me be a monster ever again."

Danni stared down at the cylinder. It was a morbid fascination that caused her thumb to flick it on. Jor-El did not move—he simply closed his eyes. "I could kill you," she whispered.

"Yes," he said. "That will kill us."

She brought the blade very slowly against his shoulders. She saw him tense and saw the otherwise impervious skin seem to boil under the contact. She pulled it away quickly and deactivated the blade. The skin continued to boil a moment before it hardened into the line of scar tissue. She let the cylinder fall to the floor as she reached up and touched the scar.

Jor winced. "They still hurt, don't they?" she whispered.

"Even Dad's still hurts from when he was a teenager," Jor confirmed. "Our bodies were not supposed to scar like this."

"I hurt you."

"Yes."

She did not even think about it. One moment she was standing there touching his newest scar, while the next she was collapsed against him crying and slamming the flat of her fist against his chest. When her legs collapsed, he sat down with her. She felt gentle hands lift her on his lap and still she could not stop crying.

She cried on, caught as she was between waves of anguish, pain and despair. Finally, though, the worst of the storm passed and she became intensely aware of the strong chest her cheek laid against; of the strong arms curled around her. Of the pain she could feel in him, pouring into her. Pain and regret and a deep, overriding love that he felt he didn't deserve.

She could feel all of that, and she could feel his body responding to her.

"Damn you, Jan," she whispered, even as she reached up both hands, wrapped them around Jor's head and pulled him down for a hungry, angry kiss.

* * *

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Author's Responses

First off, I'd like to thank the following people for their reviews and commnets: dajohu; Vyrexuviel; Roosterman71; Exodus5; The-Knight2000; Manus dei; and bord to life. I appreciate you reading and reviewing.

Q: I would like to know what happened to the Vong who dedicated herself to Quashel, what happened to her?

A: Nen Yim (maybe--I get the spelling mixed up and it drives my Beta nuts) is not out of the picture yet. The subplot of Danni and Jor in Vong hands will be very important to the end of this fic, and she has a vital role in that.

Q: Hey, if they are going to send Jor-El to trial then don't they have to send everyone else who broke laws while shaped to trial also? That could be a lot of people.

Where is Danni? I though there would be some interaction between Jor and her in this chapter.

A: Jor caused more damage than any one slave, and did so in a public and spectacular fashion. Plus he was the son of the new president. He had to face at least an inquest for political reasons if for no other reasons. And I think this chapter answered the second question.

Q: I have to wonder, and maybe i've just forgotten here, but is Jag going to show up anytime lol?

A: Although he doesn't have a pivotal role, he does show up. It was pointed out that Jaina didn't have enough "screen" time, and since I lost so much data, in the rewrite I adjusted to bring her in more, and found it was a good move for the rest of the fic. Nothing major, but I'll have her facing Jacen's death head on. Hopefully people will like.

Q: Any idea how many chapters this is going to be?

A: Forty-six.

And I can answer that last question because, ladies and gentleman, Children of the Red Sun is done! Hallelujah! You have no idea how close I came to abandoning this story--not once, but on three separate occasions. But with the help of a good Beta I was able to push through, and it is done. She just go the next few chapters back to me and has the last section on her lap to read through. This means that I will be able to continue my weekly posting on this fic until it is complete.

So, thank you all for reading and for your reviews. I hope you continue to enjoy it until the end.


	36. Journey to the Core

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Journey to the Core**

"We want to go," Karia said. Anakin nodded.

"And why would I let you two go?" Mara asked.

"Because we're really cute?" Anakin said. He batted his eye lashes.

Mara did not even smile.

"Wow, you're good. That even works on Mom."

"You're holding my daughter's hand," Mara pointed out. "She's cuter."

"Can't argue with that," Anakin conceded. "How about this, then. Karia is nearly as strong as you are. With Master Cairnwick being sick, Master Katarn has assumed my apprenticeship, and he's going. Because I haven't been able to contribute as much as I should during this whole bloody war, and finally…"

"He's a genius with machines," Karia finished.

"Yeah, what she said," Anakin said.

"Really?"

"Don't you remember Centerpoint Station?" Karia asked.

"I remember Anakin being banned from going there again," Mara said.

"It's a Force talent," Anakin said with not a trace of modesty. "I can usually control machines or at least figure them out very well. If this ghost is in the computer core of the ship, you're going to need that. You and Master Katarn can fight the ghost, but I can fight the machines it may control."

"And how does this talent explain why Karia should go?"

"Because he's my boyfriend and I have to protect him," Karia explained with a smug smile.

"You know what your father would say," Mara said.

"So don't tell him."

"Or your mother." Mara turned to Anakin.

"Actually, I asked Dad," Anakin said. The two women looked at him, and he shrugged. "Hey, I'm not stupid. We always knew that if we really wanted to get something, to ask Dad first. Mother was less likely to say no if Dad already said yes, and he usually does say yes. Dad's good like that. And he said as long as I didn't start comparing chest sizes or anything, I could go if you'd have me."

Mara shook her head. "You know, I believe he would actually say that."

"Not that there's any comparison," Anakin said.

"Stop while you're behind, Anakin," Mara growled.

"Yes, ma'am."

The three of them were in the main staging bay near the Bothan shuttles that would be taking them to the _Ralroost_. "Do you have your things gathered?"

"Yes," the two teens chirped.

"I'll tell you right now that if I catch you playing around you will be in serious trouble."

"We'll be good," Anakin said.

Karia blinked. "We will?"

"Karia!" Mara barked.

"Oh, all right!"

"And remember, dear, I have far-hearing and X-ray vision now too."

"I know. It's not fair."

"Now, what's not fair is that Anakin had better never see those pieces of scrap cloth you're wearing as undergarments."

Anakin's eyes bulged almost out of his head.

"Mother!" Karia stamped her foot. "That was just mean!" She grabbed Anakin's hand and started leading him toward the shuttles. "Just for that I'm going to make sure he gets a look!"

Poor Anakin looked as if he were about to have a heart attack, although Mara couldn't say it if was because of the impending view of her daughter's skimpy black undergarments, or because of the threat of impending death that such a sight might entail.

She suspected he would be very good.

Moments later, the rest of the command staff of the _Eclipse_ appeared. Thrawn as always wore his bright white Imperial Grand Admiral's uniform. Mara did not recognize most of his attendants, save for Colonel Kir Kanos. The former Imperial Guard now wore a plain gray Imperial uniform, since the new Alliance uniforms were still in the design phase. After Kanos came Kyle Katarn.

"Mara," Kyle said with a nod. The Jedi Master did not look very happy to be leaving his still recuperating wife behind. "So, Anakin hit you up yet?"

"Does he really always go to his dad for permission first?" Mara asked.

Kyle grinned. "Hell, I go to his dad first for permission. I think Leia was pre-programmed to always say no."

"I have noticed this about Secretary Solo as well," Thrawn said with an oddly formal tone. "So, Masters Jedi, I take it from the context that young Master Solo will be joining us? His profile suggests an unusual talent for technology."

"So I've been told," Mara said. "Kyle has assumed the role of his master. Kara is also coming, since the two of them have become inseparable."

"Ah, young love," Kyle said with an exaggerated sigh. "Thank the Force I was never that young. Come on, folks, let's get this show on the road."

Mara watched as Kyle led the Imperials onto the ship. She didn't know why she lingered—just a feeling. A few moments later that feeling was rewarded when she saw another Solo trailing unobtrusively a few meters behind the young, obviously infatuated couple.

Jaina, though fully recuperated from the injuries received when Jacen died, still looked pale and a little drawn. In fact, she looked entirely different, and Mara knew this was due to some surgeries they had to perform. Her eyes were the same, but surgeons had to realign her jaw and a part of her nose, giving her face a slightly different cast. In conjunction with a now military-short haircut, Jaina looked almost like a different person.

Mara's eyes narrowed as she tried and failed to imagine what it must have been like for the attractive young woman to lose her twin. Even as her mind tried to follow the paths of Jaina's emotional hardships, her sharp eyes noted that Jaina was not in Jedi robes.

She was wearing an Imperial uniform. Of a warrant office specializing in engineering.

For a moment Mara considered running after her and demanding to know what was happening, but her own deeply bred special ops training interceded. Jaina would not have attempted to infiltrate the supposedly allied Imperial ranks on her own prerogative. She was here on someone's orders, most likely either Han or Leia.

Kale would never send his young cousin and adopted niece on a potentially dangerous mission, most especially not after the grievous injuries she received at the hands of their son.

So Mara kicked herself into motion and walked casually up the loading ramp with the thousands of other technicians who would be riding in the _Ralroost_.

Of course, the loading of eighty thousand trained personnel onto two ships took more than a minute to accomplish. In fact, with resources so strapped, it took almost seven hours to get the _Ralroost_ and the accompanying personnel transport fully loaded and stocked for the journey to the Deep Core.

However, a few hours after the sun set on a cold, dreary day, the two ships broke orbit and once cleared of Alderaan's gravitational pull, they disappeared into hyperspace.

* * *

That morning, as the shuttle took Mara, Kyle, Anakin and Karia into orbit, Danni Quee became aware of a blessedly hot body pressed up against hers. She became aware of an arm draped around her waist, and the steady rhythm of breath blowing against her neck.

She became aware of a pounding, alcohol-fueled headache trying with a fair amount of success to push her eyeballs out of their sockets.

"Oh, stars," she whispered, "what did I do?"

Jor's arm lifted from around her waist until a hand pressed gently against her forehead. She could feel a gentle warmth flowing from the touch, and almost immediately the headache abated. "Dad did that for Mom once," the young Kryptonian whispered.

Danni closed her eyes. His breath was faintly acrid after their night together, but still smelled better than morning breath had any right to smell. In fact, the smell of him was intoxicating. His scent was unlike anything she'd ever encountered, and it filled her with a sense of longing and desire. A desire which she strongly clamped down on.

"Jor…" She turned to face him when her foot hit something cold and metallic. She reached down until she pulled up the lightsaber he showed her the previous night. "You should put this away."

"No," Jor said. "It's yours. I meant what I said last night."

"I'd probably cut my own foot off," Danni said.

"Not if you're trained," Jor said. "You have the Force. The Vong knew it. That's why…" Jor stopped and rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling.

He looked so young, Danni thought. So young, and so beautiful. Even with those scars that hurt him all the time, Jor-El Naberrie was beautiful. But he was also hiding something. She propped herself up on her elbow, at this stage giving up on any notion of modesty. "What?"

He did not look at her at first, and when he did his eyes were red. "When they…when they broke me, Brainiac got into my brain. He saw everything. It was like a…a….it was like he was raping me. I couldn't do anything to stop him. He just ripped out anything he wanted, and pushed me back into a corner. I saw everything that happened, but I couldn't do anything about it. I saw my own fist kill Jacen. I…"

"Jor, it's okay…" Danni started, but stopped when he shook his head almost violently.

"No, it's not. It's because of me that they went after you. He saw…" Jor stopped and wiped his eyes. "They saw that I loved you. Maybe it was just infatuation, but that time we spent on Helska was the closest I've ever been to anyone. I fell in love with you there and then, and Brainiac knew it. After they made me into Qahsel, they wanted to collect my seed to make a new weapon based on Kryptonian genomes. But I hated Yim. Even as a Vong, I hated her, and she couldn't conceive. But then they realized how I was conceived. How Karia was. A Force-strong woman my father loved. And naturally they thought of you."

"Jor, what are you saying?"

"I think it was Tsavong Lah who ordered all forces to search for you. They sent out pictures of you to every ship. I learned about this after, of course. They didn't tell me anything at the time. But that's how Yim found you in that bubble. Somehow, you'd survived, and she wasn't going to risk you again. So she healed you and presented you to me."

Jor squeezed his eyes shut, and Danni placed a hand on his broad chest as he sobbed once. "And I was so happy. So deliriously, stupidly happy. The Qahsel was disgusted by you—you weren't Vong—but I was so happy I must have bled into his psyche. So we didn't hurt you. Not like Yim. I let myself happily make love to you, all the while giving the Vong exactly what they wanted. I raped you, and gave them a new weapon."

"It wasn't you," Danni whispered.

"But I wanted you so bad," he sobbed. "I wanted you. I didn't try to fight at all. They hurt me so bad, and I knew they were going to try and kill everyone else I loved, but when they brought you through that door I didn't care. All I ever wanted was to be with you."

Great sobs racked his chest as he turned away from her. Not sure what to say, Danni rested her head against his shoulder and simply snuggled close to him. Finally, when the sobbing fit passed, she whispered, "They hurt you as bad as you hurt me," she said. "Except that I'm a human being. I was made to endure and survive pain. But you…you've never felt pain like that, have you?"

"Never," Jor admitted. "Under that red sun, they ripped me open. They took out everything that made me who I was, shoved the rest in a corner, and made me a monster. I still dream about it—about turning back into Qahsel. That's why I want you to keep that lightsaber."

His arm came around her shoulder and pressed her closer against his side. Finally he turned and looked at her. So close, she noticed for the first time how perfect his eyes were. The irises had no striations or brown. They were a perfect, uniform color of green so brilliant they took her breath away. Even moistened as they were with tears, Jor was a beautiful young man.

"I love you, Danni," he whispered to her. "I know I have no right to. I know you can't possibly feel the same way, but I love you, and I never want to hurt you again."

He was going to say something else, but she stilled him with a finger to his lips. This god, this being who could crush worlds, was stilled with the gentlest of touches. She leaned down and kissed that broad, perfect chest of his. Gradually she climbed on top of him and looked down on him with a realization that she had been fighting since Helska.

"I love you too, Jor," she finally admitted.

* * *

Standing alone on a terrace overlooking the Aldera mountains stood a lone figure, his feet shoulder-length apart, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked up at the cold, starry sky. He knew that the _Ralroost_ and its personnel transport had finally broken orbit.

Kale was not used to feeling tired, not in the current sense. Under a red sun, he felt weakened, although with time even those effects were not as strong as they once were. But what he felt now was simply a weariness of the mind and soul. A longing for Mara to be there.

He knew his marriage was not perfect. Reflecting back on the choices he made, he realized how hard it was for Mara. He never faulted her for going back to Coruscant for additional Jedi training, or even for taking missions, as long as she came back. When he was younger, he even told himself it was nice to have a break from her. Mara's was a strong personality and she did not give an inch to anyone, even those she loved.

How terrible it must have been for her to watch Kale live in self-imposed exile while the galaxy continued to burn in civil war. Yet, she never said anything to him. Never judged him for the decisions he made that affected them both.

Now, knowing his wife was going on a mission with his daughter to face the spirit of the last, greatest Sith Lord, he could honestly say that he missed her more than anything. That he was lying to himself all those times she went away to live a life he was frankly too afraid to live. Oh, he couched his fears in terms of self-important decisions. What if he went dark? What if he became a two-sided sword that cut those he loved as well as those he fought?

What if he stood on the sideline and watched his friends die?

Since being forcibly dragged into the events of the greater galaxy, Kale found himself in a position he never imagined—one of political power. Never in his life had he truly commanded—and yet by some strange twist of fate he found himself the leader of the galaxy. How did that happen? Better yet, why did it happen?

Perhaps, he thought wryly, it was the Force's way of punishing him for staying on Naboo for all those years.

Did he need to be punished for that? He tried to recreate the thoughts and decision-making process that led him to resign from the Alliance. Though he couldn't remember everything, at the time he was so certain it was the right decision.

Now, he was thinking he deserved to be punished for it.

It came as a genuine shock to find he was not alone. He must have heard Han join him, but it never registered, he was so deep in his own thoughts. "They've broken orbit and are on their way," Han said.

Kale nodded to himself then turned and looked carefully at his friend. Han Solo was fifty-eight years old. He wore his years on his face in the form of scars and wrinkles. Laugh lines and frown furrows. What had been a keen intelligence when young had mellowed into a keener wisdom.

"You remember when Mara infiltrated the base on Yavin?" Kale asked.

Han chuckled. "Yeah, you were about to swat her with a caf machine. You go on and on about how you Force-bonded with her on Naboo, and there you were about to squash her like a bug."

"You stopped me."

"I just didn't want you to break the only caf dispenser on the base," Han chuckled.

Kale shrugged. "I remember thinking that I had to kill her. That I had to avenge my family. I think if I had done that, Obi-Wan's spirit would have kicked my ass. I didn't want to—even standing there on the verge of committing cold-blooded murder, I loved her. Or…I was fifteen, what did I know? Maybe it was just pre-pubescent lust. Maybe she was the first person I ever let myself get attached to. I think if I had killed her, something would have broken in me. I would have become exactly what I feared when I went back to Naboo."

"But you didn't."

"Because of you." Kale looked down at his feet. "Was it a mistake going back to Naboo?"

Han shrugged. "Guess it depends on who you ask. Hell, you were fifteen when you got yanked into the fight. You were nineteen when you killed the Emperor and met Mara. You were super-strong, but you were still just an idiot kid. How the stars were you supposed to know how to make a good decision? Sure, you had all that Force mumbo-jumbo, but if the Jedi were all that smart they wouldn't have had their butts handed to them on the platter the first time around, would they? You were a kid, you needed to do some growing up, and so you went home."

"But was it the right thing to do?"

"For the galaxy?" Han thought a moment. "No, it wasn't. As a soldier you betrayed the Alliance by not fighting for our goals to the best of your ability. For Mara? No, I could tell the peace on Naboo was driving her insane. She was and always will be a woman of action. But ultimately was it the right decision for you? You've grown up now. What do you think?"

"I was selfish."

"Yep," Han said without a moment's hesitation. "But maybe, just maybe, you had to be."

"Am I more important than all the rest of the people in the galaxy?"

"Course not, I am," Han said with a grin. "You're more important to yourself than the rest of the galaxy is to you. That doesn't make you evil, that makes you human. Well, mostly. You know."

"Yeah, I know. And when I left everyone behind to save Mara, even though it meant my son being warped into a monster and your son dying?"

"Kale, what is it with you? Do you want me to flog you or something? It's not like I have anything on me that would hurt you."

"Sorry," Kale said with a sheepish expression. "Guess I'm just missing Mara. Wondering how in the stars I became President. How I'm going to save everybody when I have trouble just saving those I love."

Han shrugged. "Maybe you're more human than you realize. Come on, I have some Corellian whiskey that's just calling our name."

Kale nodded. "Sounds good."

* * *

sp

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**Author's Responses**:

Thanks to wawaboy2; Roosterman71; dajohu; Exodus5; prudiisten; Manus Dei; The-Knight2000. I appreciate your input and suggestions.

Q and A

Q: If this new government is going to start treating its citizens differently based on politics there doesn't seem much hope for it being any different then previous governments. If Jor-El had an inquest then so should everyone else who committed crimes while shaped. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair or impartial which is what they are supposed to be.

A: I'll have to respectfully disagree with you. And it is with respect--I know what you're saying, and in theory I agree. All citizens should be treated equally. But as with everything else in this story, I wanted there to be consequence, and in any real political environment if the son of the head of state were personally responsible for millions of deaths, there would have to be a consequence either to the son or the Father. The inquest was to determine what if any those consequences would be. The inquest was a political means for Kale diffusing the issue entirely. It's not perfect, but then if I tried to paint the Alliance as perfect, that just wouldn't ring true in my mind either.


	37. The Heart of Darkness

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Heart of Darkness**

"That's one big ship," Mara muttered.

Kyle nodded. "You've never seen one before, have you? I remember helping Leia on the first one when we fought Palpatine's clone. That was not a fun day."

Mara said nothing. The two stood in the back of the bridge of the _Ralroost_ while the destroyer approached a behemoth. At over seventeen and a half kilometers, the _Eclipse-_class dreadnought was truly a monster. It dwarfed the 850-meter _Ralroost_, like a humming twyl flying under a kowakian eagle serpent.

The whole bridge was silent, save for the sound of the computers and navigation controls. The _Ralroost_ was doing a close flyby. The Deep Core was a bright region of space, alive with radiation from the maze of nebula, quasars, black holes and other exotic structures only found in the center of the galaxy. However, as bright as the sky was, the view through the transparisteel windows of the bridge was absolutely black with the hull of the behemoth.

"It doesn't appear to have suffered much damage at first glance," Admiral Kre'fey said.

Admiral Thrawn stood near the Bothan. "The armor is sufficiently dense that nothing short of a large meteor impact would leave noticeable damage."

"Good to know," Kyle muttered.

Thrawn handed a datachip to Kre'fey. "The command override to open the docking bay."

"Thank you, Grand Admiral," the Bothan said. He inserted the chip in a receptacle on his command chair. "Navigation, Z-minus two thousand meters. Take us underneath the ship."

The destroyer started sinking down in relation to the dreadnaught. Finally the sky lit up again as they breached the lower horizon of the monster. With the light reflecting off the dark gray armor, they could all see a section of the hull crawling back. Docking lights suddenly lit the cavernous interior of a docking bay larger than most ships.

"A docking bay large enough to hold an actual star destroyer. Nice," Kyle muttered.

"We'll need the space," Thrawn pointed out with a half-smile that on anyone else would be described as a smirk. "The personnel transport will need to dock as well."

From the bridge of the Bothan attack cruiser they watched as the smaller transport nestled into the impossibly large docking bay and connected to a series of airlocks beside them. As soon as the two ships made a solid connection, Mara let out a long breath. "Wow," she whispered.

Thrawn turned and stared with one raised brow.

"The Dark Side is strong here," Kyle explained. "We can feel the Emperor's presence."

"You are not the only ones to feel his presence on this ship," Thrawn assured them. "The question is whether or not you will be able to banish that presence so we can safely restart it."

"We'll give it our best try," Kyle assured the blue-skinned admiral.

Within half an hour, Mara, Kyle, Anakin and Karia were waiting beside Thrawn, Kir Kanos and a handful of soldiers wearing a mix of the old NRDF uniforms and stormtrooper armor. The airlock cycled, and all of them were hit by a wave of stale air.

"Breathable," Kyle noted, "but it's pretty obvious the air cyclers haven't run in a while."

"It's cold," Anakin said.

"That's not just the air, either," Kyle noted. He turned back to Thrawn and the men. "I'm assuming this ship has internal defenses. In the event the Emperor's spirit has control of them, I want everyone to stay between us. Mara, you and Anakin should bring up the rear."

Though Mara was undoubtedly the stronger, Kyle was senior in Jedi matters. Plus, she trusted him. The decision to have one Kryptonian with a regular Jedi teamed up was a good idea. She grabbed Anakin and the two fell back to the rear of the column as they stepped onto the _Eclipse_.

Almost immediately the hall reverberated with a mad cackle. "Well, I'd say he knows we're here," Karia said.

Almost instantly, four sets of blaster cannons dropped from the ceiling around them and opened fire. Lightsabers snapped on and shielded the soldiers, until twin beams of heat from both Karia and Mara reduced the cannons to smoldering ruin. "Well, that was fun," Kyle said. "Admiral, this was your ship before it was with the Alliance. Where would be the best place to go?"

"Having learned our lesson at the Battle of Coruscant," Thrawn said, "these ships were built with multiple redundant command centers. If we can reach one, we should be able to determine the ship's status very quickly. There should be one approximately three kilometers straight on."

"Yes, let's take a three klick hike on a kriffin' spaceship," Karia said.

"Language," Mara called up to her.

Karia grinned. "Sorry."

It was not just a hike. They were attacked repeatedly and at odd intervals. On at least one occasion, the automated defenses fired directly into the center of the column. Even with super speed, Mara was unable to save everyone. They ended up losing almost half the column by the time they reached the command nodule.

After quickly disarming all the internal defenses, Anakin walked to the nearest console while the few engineers to survive started doing their own diagnostics. Karia stood by him, resting a hand on his shoulder as he simply sat there with his hands on the console.

"I can feel him in there," the young Jedi finally said. "He's…living, I guess you'd say...in the main computer core of the ship." He shuddered and Karia hugged his shoulders. "So much hatred. It's all he knows now. Hate and pain."

"All the more reason to drive him from this galaxy," Kyle declared. "We're going to need a space."

"There's a lounge through that door," Anakin said.

They looked and found a spacious room with couches and tables, a large fresher unit and a kitchen area. The four Jedi stepped through. "Perfect," Kyle said with a nod. He looked back at Thrawn. "Admiral, we're going to need to be alone for this."

"I understand, Master Jedi," the admiral said. "If any of you need anything, please ask."

Once the Chiss admiral left, the four Jedi closed the lounge door and then sat on the floor in a diamond formation, facing each other. Karia faced Anakin; Mara faced Kyle. "I can feel him," Karia noted in a subdued voice.

"Yeah, he's as nasty a piece of work in death as he was in life," Kyle said.

"He was worse when alive," Mara said. "He had all the evil, but while he was living that evil was directed by one of the most brilliant minds to ever live. It wasn't just brute power that overthrew and destroyed the old Jedi order. Now, all I can sense is rage and madness."

"So what are we going to actually do?" Anakin said.

"The dark abhors the light," Kyle said. "We're going to flood the whole ship in the light. We're going to force him to either leave the ship, or preferably leave this plane of existence entirely."

"This is a really big ship to flood with the Force," Anakin said.

"Good thing there are four of us then, isn't it?" Kyle answered back with a grin.

"He's going to fight back though," Mara predicted. "He's going to fight us with every ounce of his power. He'll throw our own fears back at us; he'll throw everything he can. He'll try to drive us to the brink of insanity. Just remember, you are the masters of your own minds. All he can do is try to scare you. He only has as much power as you actually give him."

"Yeah, I'll pretend to believe that," Anakin said. "'Cause he feels pretty powerful from where I'm sitting."

"It's time to start," Kyle said.

He closed his eyes, and all of them could feel the experienced master slip immediately into the Force. Mara closed her eyes next. Though her transition wasn't as fast, it was still only a second before she was completely immersed.

Karia and Anakin shared a long look at each other. "See you on the other side?" he asked.

"That could be taken too many ways," Karia decided. "How 'bout, we'll see each other in a few minutes."

"Better," Anakin agreed.

Both closed their eyes. Anakin took several deep breaths to properly immerse himself in the Force. It took much longer for him and Karia than it did for the adults, but then again both of them were Jedi masters. Still, eventually he felt that still, absolutely calm of the Force and knew he'd reached the point he needed too. He could feel the other three around him so clearly he could actually see them. In the Force Kyle was a cool blue, while Mara and Karia both burned like brilliant white diamonds.

He reached out toward the smaller diamond glow and felt her reach out to him. In the Force there were no words. There were no pleasantries. There was only truth. And in that brilliant white truth of the Force, Anakin knew that he loved Karia with all his heart, and that she loved him as well.

Suddenly the brilliant diamond light was gone. A cloak of shadow fell over the four of them, accompanied by the insane cackle of the dead emperor. Anakin stilled the fear he felt and projected his calm into the Force. He pushed the light side with all his might, but still the shadow remained.

He heard a new voice then. One familiar and loved. "What do you think you're doing, Anakin?"

From the midst of the shadow stepped the familiar form of his brother Jacen. Only, this Jacen looked different. His skin was gray; his eyes were as black as the shadows around him. Coral spurs erupted from the skin of his shoulders and the back of his hands.

"You're not real," Anakin said.

"I am real," Jacen said. "I am what would have been. We're the grandchildren of Darth Vader, Anakin. We exist because of the Dark Side, and it is ultimately the Dark Side that we will all return to. I would have fallen too, had I lived. What you see is what I would have been."

"No!" Anakin said, struggling to maintain his calm. "Jacen would never turn to the Dark Side. Jacen was the best Jedi I ever knew!"

"I am Jacen," the ghost of his brother said. "I am what he would have been. You cannot deny it."

"I don't have to," Anakin said. "My brother is dead. You're just a sad, pale imitation."

Suddenly the shadow parted before a spear of brilliant white light, and Karia was there. The ghost form of Jacen though did not flinch away from the light of the young Kryptonian. Rather, he smiled at Anakin with an expression the younger Solo had seen only one time, during Jacen and Jor-El's duel after Helska.

A bone-spur hand reached out and grasped the brilliance that was Karia, and even in the Force Anakin could feel her surprise, pain and fear. "Only now do you begin to understand," Jacen said. "The Dark Side is the most powerful. Your pitiful attempts to destroy the darkness will never succeed."

"Karia!" Anakin said. "You're stronger than that! Fight him!"

Karia did not respond. He could feel the power of her presence fading. She was dying. The Dark Side presence was literally smothering her to death. Desperate, Anakin struck out not at Jacen, but at Karia, pushing with all the love he had.

The shadow split before the spear of his own light, and from beyond it he sensed her presence, whole and unharmed, but very scared. Jacen's face warped in rage. "You fool, do you think you can stop me?" It was no longer even Jacen's voice.

_I'm here_, Karia said through their Force bond. _I love you._

_I love you too!_ Anakin said. He held onto the bond with everything he had, strengthening it with Force and will. On the other side he felt Karia doing the same, until the bond itself glowed with brilliant light side energy.

_Anakin!_ This was Kyle's presence, strong and undaunted. _Your bond is the key! Feed it. Use it. Open yourself to Mara and me._

Anakin opened himself without hesitation. He felt Kyle in the Force, soothing cool with a core as hot and brilliant as anything the Kryptonians had. The moment they bonded he knew what Kyle had seen. He knew the Jedi master was haunted by the emaciated form of his wife, dying in his arms while his own mother hung suggestively over the elder Jedi.

Kyle made no move to block the image, or even deny it. In that instance Anakin understood the love that his mother and her co-Grand Master shared, and the respect they had for each other that prevented them from ever acting on that love. Rather than upset Anakin, the knowledge left him in awe.

Then there was Mara. He relived her worst day; the day she went before her old master and admitted that she had failed to destroy Kale Naberrie. The day the Emperor stripped her of her office and her purpose in life. The physical pain of his Force lightning was nothing compared to the soul-wrenching agony of losing everything she had ever known.

He watched through her eyes as she experienced her son killing everyone she loved. And then watched her ultimate fear—her husband and son fighting to the death.

She shrugged it aside with Kyle's help, just like Anakin overcame his attack with Karia's help. She joined their bond, and just as he knew her fears and her past, she knew the overwhelming love he had for her daughter. Rather than reject it or feel anger, he instead felt her acceptance and her own love for him.

_You have always been a part of my family,_ she sent to him in the Force. _And you always will be._

What started out as the Force bond between Anakin and Karia had blossomed into a lattice of bonds connecting the four of them together in love and acceptance. They were so closely connected that all four of them acted as a single unit, moving together without need for discussion or planning.

Light-side energy exploded out from them, pushing back the shadows. The moment they broke the immediate bubble they could feel the Dark Side presence retreating toward the aft of the ship and pushed after.

They all sensed the Emperor's presence weakening and knew the end was near. They pushed harder, channeling everything they had. The Emperor pushed back, and for a second that felt like an eternity Dark and Light energy swirled against each other in the heart of the ship. When the end came, it did so suddenly and without warning. The Dark Side energy exploded back away from the Light, imploding against the brilliance of the Jedi.

They all sensed the angry scream, almost a howl, as they exorcised the Emperor from this last tool of destruction. Just like that, it was over.

They could not disband the bonds just like that. It took a moment for them to release the energy. Eventually, though, they hovered just on the edge of full consciousness. "We did it," Anakin whispered.

"Just what we were waiting to hear," Admiral Thrawn said.

Anakin's eyes snapped open. "Wait, what?"

Darts slammed into Mara's and Karia's necks. Anakin watched, disbelieving, as the two nearly impervious women slumped over to the floor unconscious. Anakin became instantly aware of other presences in the lounge. Thrawn, Kanos and several troopers.

Kyle responded with the swiftness of a Jedi Master. A wave of brute Force energy slammed out around his body, impacting Thrawn and most of the stormtroopers. Kir Kanos, former Imperial Guard, jumped over the ring of energy with a Force-pike in hand. Kyle had just a second to ignite his saber before the Force-pike came down. Even with all his skill, the Jedi Master simply did not have time to fully prepare for the onslaught of such a skilled opponent. He batted one side of the Force-pike away only to receive the other end in a vicious slash to his ribs.

The blow was followed by a kick to the head. The entire confrontation took three seconds.

In that three seconds, Anakin knew he could not win. He responded by instinct and by the Force. While Kyle's defensive blow knocked Thrawn and most of his soldiers back, Anakin exploded to his feet and zipped through the lounge door into the nodular command center faster than a normal humanoid could follow.

He found himself surrounded by stormtroopers and Imperial engineers. There was no sign at all of the NRDF engineers or soldiers.

Realizing this still wasn't the time to fight, he pushed further against the troopers guarding the exit to the corridor and shot past them. There were even more troopers in a column outside. "Ah, come on!" Anakin muttered.

"Get him!" the lead stormtrooper said.

Anakin Force-pushed, putting everything he had into the blow. The first three lines of troopers went tumbling back into their colleagues, and with that opening Anakin turned and sprinted down the hall.

Back in the lounge, Thrawn picked himself up and observed the damage. "We captured the most dangerous elements," he summarized. "Are the cells ready for them?"

"They are," Kanos said. The former Crimson Guard wore officer grays for now, but he carried his pike like one born to it. "The young Jedi could still be trouble."

"We will deal with him when the time comes. The Force does not make Jedi impervious to good planning. Bring the ysalamiri on board."

"And the Kryptonians?"

"The darts were laced with the last Kryptonite I could find," Thrawn said. "It should be sufficient to keep them incapacitated."

"But not enough to kill them," Kanos said.

"No. However, I'm told that when exposed to the light of a red star they are much more vulnerable," the Admiral said. "When we have destroyed the Vong and reasserted the might of the Empire, we shall expose them to the light of my native world's sun. The radiation alone should leave them perfectly vulnerable."

Kanos simply nodded. "Naberrie will come after them."

"Naberrie will not know what is happening until it is too late," Thrawn said. "As far as he knows, this is the only _Eclipse-_class dreadnaught we have. When two arrive at Imperial Center to obliterate the Vong and the Alliance fleet, it will be too late for him to stop us."

"That's what my former master thought," Kanos pointed out.

"Indeed," Thrawn said. "Hopefully we shall have a firmer grip on reality. Come, let's get our guests to their new quarters, shall we?"

* * *

Author's Responses:

Well, hope everyone enjoyed my little twist. Honestly, did anyone think Thrawn was loyal to anything other than himself and the Empire?

Dajohu, Exodus5, Vyrexuviel, Roosterman71; TheKnight200--thank you for reading and reviewing. I appreciate it.

Q: I see Kale is whining again.

A: Yeah, but he's winding down, and you have to admit that Han knows perfectly how to handle him.

That was the only actual question, I suppose. And that's alright. As I said before, the actual writing of this story is done! Yeah! Now it's just a matter of beta reading. Thank you for reading!


	38. The Seeds of Destruction

Author's Notes at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Seeds of Destruction  
**

Shimrra Jamaane strode through his personal damutek on Yuuzhan'tar with an unreadable growl. His personal guard followed behind him at a respectful distance. A step behind and to his left walked the newly elevated Prefect Nom Anor, while on his right strode Harrar, Priest of Yun-Harla.

They reached their destination in the Shaping Chamber and waited just inside the entry. Across from them stood High Master Shaper Ch'Gang Hool. The High Master Shaper stood stiffly as he stared through the viewing bubble into the birthing chamber. Jamaane approached and only then did Hool turn and bow. "Your arrival is auspicious, Dread Lord."

Jamaane nodded to the man and then turned his attention to the bubble. Inside, the Master Shaper Nen Yim, who like Nom Anor was also newly promoted, knelt beside the birthing orifice of the maturation chamber to collect the small bundle of wiggling limbs. With the creature cradled to her chest, she turned and walked out of the room to Hool. She knelt to both knees and offered the newly birthed being to her master, who in turn took the baby and showed it to Jamaane.

Even by Vong standards, the babe was ugly. It had the gray skin-tone common to most Vong, but was already replete with growths of bone spur a darker shade of white than normal. The Supreme Overlord could actually see nubbins of bone on the ridges of the creature's brows, and its fists.

"Speak," Jamaane ordered.

"Master Yim has brought honor to her house and clan," Hool said pompously. "She has within the Cortexes produced a weapon most fearsome. This child will reach adult size in days. It shall be impervious to any weapon we possess. It is made from the seed of Qahsel and his slave human, and refined to perfection. His spurs are denser than the strongest yorik known. We cannot replicate him; we could not split the egg from which he was created. But in this one creation we have achieved our greatest weapon. With your blessings, Dread One, we shall name this one Tasii'Chaasta."

_Bringer of the Day of Doom. _"A worthy name," Jamaane said. "You have my blessings, and you shall have slaves and honor for this work." The Supreme Overlord looked to Anor. "For once your association with the cursed one Desh has borne fruit."

Anor bowed from the waist. "It is my honor to serve, Dread One."

"As it should be. Desh is unworthy to walk upon the soil of Yuuzhan'tar. When Tasii'Chaasta is ready, we shall purge our own ranks first before destroying the infidels that would deny what the gods have promised."

All around him, Jamaane's servants bowed. It was indeed a glorious day for the faithful.

* * *

Lieutenant Marta Jastorich snapped off a quick salute to the deck captain. "You heard the orders," she snapped to her team of engineers. "I want every command sub-node locked out of the computer core now!"

The engineers—a team of men and women ranging in age from seventeen to twenty-one, looked at the equally young lieutenant in surprised confusion for a moment. Though every one was trained on Bastion under the Imperial War Academy, they were engineers first and soldiers second. Still, the indoctrination was sufficient to prevent any of the many obvious questions that such an order raised.

They left aside their previous tasks and started working on building the necessary breaks and firewalls to prevent any of the secondary command nodes from taking over the ship.

While they were working, Lieutenant Jastorich walked out of the primary computer core room to a communications sub-station that was still not active for anything but local wave carrier bands and inter-ship.

She snapped her fingers, and in the process one of her fingernails fell away. She quickly lifted it and slipped the false nail into a data chip slot.

The substation suddenly went active. She manually entered a brief message before routing the message through every communications node on the ship before it finally reached its destination.

"Good luck, Traest," she whispered.

* * *

Commander Cast'eyr stepped to Admiral Kre'fey's side. "Admiral," he said with a subvocal growl, "we have received a coded message for your eyes only. It is on an old Secure Gold channel."

Kre'fey's brow ridges rose and his primary whiskers twitched in surprise. That channel was one of the last of the truly secured channels used by the Rebel Alliance prior to the formation of the Republic and was never distributed or released to the public, nor cracked by the Empire.

He called up the message and entered his old Rebel Alliance ID from when he was a young man in Madine's intelligence squad. He doubted it would work, but evidently the sender knew his past sufficiently to take that into account.

It was a simple sentence. _You have five minutes to evacuate your ship before his betrayal is complete._

Kre'fey's heart stopped beating for a split second. "Cast'eyr, are any of the former Imperials still on our ship?"

"I do not believe so. In fact, all the humans have left save for a group of Alliance engineers on the personnel transport who are awaiting Admiral Thrawn's orders to board."

Kre'fey jumped to his feet. "We have been betrayed!" he said. His entire crew turned and stared. "We cannot risk sounding an alert. Have the entire crew—everyone—ready for boarding actions in five minutes. Full suits for those who have them. Hurry, now!"

"And the transport?"

Kre'fey's fur rippled. "Do we know how many there are?"

"Two hundred engineers," Cast'eyr said.

Any signal would be intercepted, and he doubted anyone on the transport had access to a secured channel. "We cannot afford this monster falling into enemy hands," he decided. His fur continued to ripple as he consigned two hundred beings to death. "Go, now!"

Getting the word through the ship without the alarm was time-consuming, too much so. Kre'fey was leading his crew toward the airlocks when they felt the whole ship rock. It wasn't a direct hit—rather it was the shock-wave of a nearby explosion.

"The transport," Kre'fey said. The hall was filled with his crew. "We have ray and particle shields at maximum," he said. "This will only buy us moments. Our only hope for survival is on the _Eclipse_. If that ship falls into enemy hands, the Alliance is truly doomed. We move, now!"

What followed was the single most terrifying battle the battle-hardened admiral had been through. Because he was a naval officer, it was rare even in his youth to partake in personal combat. He had two hundred and fifty marines on his ship for that.

Thrawn was ready for their attempt to escape. The _Ralroost_ immediately started buckling under the fire of internal docking bay turbolasers while Kre'fey's boarding specialists burned through the seals of their airlocks. The moment they burned through, the Bothans were faced by heavy blaster fire from a line of fully armored stormtroopers while the docking tubes and the surrounding corridors were exposed to vacuum to further impede the boarding.

Bothans fell even as they fired back. It was fear and desperation that pushed Kre'fey and his men past the initial point of defense. The halls of the _Eclipse_, though, were made to be defended, and Thrawn used every means at his disposal.

Sickened by the loss of a crew he had come to consider family, Kre'fey ordered the use of the bodies themselves as cover. He was among the first to break into the ship proper and on instinct turned down the hall along the same path the Jedi had gone.

They encountered hardened defensive points along every turn but had no choice but to rush them. Fortunately, his marines were not slouches. Missiles and portable laser cannons were often able to punch a hole through the defensive lines. Still, his people fell.

It was only after a solid hour of fighting that they were able to break through the last defensive line and into the fore portion of the ship, where the less sensitive areas were located. They continued to take out the automated defensive systems until they stumbled by accident onto a medbay.

Only then did Kre'fey allow himself to take stock of their situation.

He had nearly fifteen hundred crew and marines when they docked at the ship. As he had his surviving officers take a headcount, he was shocked to learn only six hundred or so survived.

He sank down onto one of the cots that lined the walls with an exhausted sigh. He noticed the fur on his left hand had been burned away, leaving an angry pink slash of exposed skin. He hadn't even felt it.

Before he could do much else, he heard a verbal warning of someone approaching and clutched his blaster. Those crewmen around the door knelt down, weapons ready. The figure that appeared immediately held up both hands. "Whoa!" Anakin Solo cried. "Don't shoot!"

Kre'fey sighed in relief. "Jedi Solo, it is good to see you."

"Admiral!" Anakin said, his eyes lighting up. "Thank the Force you're here. Are you okay? Did you get everyone out?"

"I've lost two-thirds of my crew," Kre'fey said darkly. "Where is your master?"

Anakin's bright expression dropped immediately. "It was all a set-up. The moment we had the Emperor's spirit out of here they jumped us. They shot Karia and Mara with some weird dart that knocked them out. Kyle managed to buy time for me to escape, but just barely. I can't even feel them in the Force. I think Thrawn has ysalamiri. There are a few pockets on the ship that I can't feel at all."

The Bothan admiral growled in rage. "I knew we could not trust that traitor."

"Evidently so did my mom," Anakin said. "I think she managed to sneak Jaina in with Thrawn's people. I felt her through the Force."

"Did you send us the warning?"

"Warning?" Anakin said. "No, I thought you just figured it out when they started shooting."

"Then your sister has helped us," Kre'fey said. "Can you speak to her in the Force?"

"I can try," Anakin said. He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses until he felt an old but still vibrant familial bond. _Jaina, hear me!_

_You don't have to shout, Nerf Herder_, came the dry response. _Other than Kanos, who's totally untrained, we're the only two functional Force sensitives on the ship. Are you injured?_

Anakin grinned brilliantly. _No. I'm with Admiral Kre'fey and a lot of very angry Bothans. He said they lost two thirds of their crew._

_Krif,_ came his older sister's angry thought. _Where are you?_

Anakin opened his eyes. "Admiral, I found her. She wants to know where we are."

"Medical bay C-240," the admiral said.

_That's pretty far forward. Right now Thrawn has us concentrating on the reactor and navigational systems. All the secondary command nodes have been firewalled out of the system. The bridge is the sole controller for the whole ship. We're doing a cold-start. It'll be twelve hours before the ship is ready to move under its own power. That means you and Kre'fey have twelve hours to figure out how to get Aunt Mara and Karia free._

_What was wrong with them? How could Thrawn just knock them out like that?_ Anakin thought back. The sight of Karia slumping over still made him feel cold inside.

_He discovered some of the Kryptonite the Emperor was experimenting with. Just enough to tip the dart. I don't think he has enough to kill them, but he has enough to keep them under for now. If we can get those darts out of them, they should wake up pretty quickly, and then it will be a different situation. _

_Jaina, how did Mom know?_

_This wasn't Mom, Anakin,_ Jaina said. _It was Dad. Dad and Jan Ors. Neither one of them trusted the Imperial contingent. They know for a fact that Vice-President Pellaeon is involved, and they think Daala might be as well, though they also believe Thrawn and Pellaeon may be shielding Daala for plausible deniability. But the one thing I've learned that scares me the most is that this isn't the only _Eclipse_ they have. There's another Thrawn managed to build on his own. He has his own little empire he calls the _Empire of the Hand_. When this is over, he means to establish himself as the Emperor, and Pellaeon supports him._

Anakin quickly relayed everything he now knew to the Bothans. Kre'fey's fur rippled in rage, though finally it settled down into a snarling smile. "Who knew Solo would be sneaky enough to employ spies," the Bothan said. "I never did like your father, young Jedi, but I always respected him. Even more so now."

Anakin smiled his thanks. "So, we have twelve hours. Any ideas?"

"We cannot overcome Thrawn's forces by might," Kre'fey said. "We don't have enough men and he controls all the strategic centers. The best we could do is sabotage the key systems. But even then it is only a matter of time before they hunt us down."

After a moment of silent thought, Kre'fey turned back to Anakin. "You are their youngest, yes? Can you tell me why you have been banned from Centerpoint Station?"

Caught off guard, Anakin smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, well, uh, you see, I sort of accidently blew up a star system with it."

"What?" the admiral asked. Other Bothans also turned and stared.

"Well, you see, the Corellia System was actually engineered. Centerpoint Station could pick up whole planets and moved them around. Ancient tech. And for whatever reason, I was able to make it work. I thank the Force the system I destroyed was lifeless. After that they shut it down and kicked me off."

"I have often heard you have an affinity for the mechanical," Kre'fey said. "Tell me, young Jedi, where was the Emperor's spirit residing?"

"The main computer core."

"And from this core he was able to operate internal defenses?"

"Well, yeah. The ship was so big they had to slave a lot of the systems to the main core. It's a lot more computerized than most ships. I mean, everything has a manual override, of course, but for a skeleton crew they have to depend on the automation."

Kre'fey stared long and hard at the Jedi. Other Bothans turned and did the same.

"What?" Anakin asked.

* * *

Two hours later, Lieutenant Jastorich ran onto the command deck of the _Eclipse_. She was not foolish enough to run to the admiral. Instead, she found the deck captain and ran to him.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" the captain said with one expectantly raised brow.

"Sir!" she said. "There has been a breach past our firewalls. Someone has managed to access the central computer core."

"And what steps have you taken to curtail this?"

"We tried cutting the hard line, but the line is so deeply embedded into the system that it would actually damage the secondary navigational array to do so. I need authorization to take such action."

"What is this??"

Jastorich snapped to stiff attention. Before her stood Admiral Thrawn himself. "Report, Lieutenant. You are Jastorich, our new engineering officer?"

"Sir, yes sir! We have a firewall breach into the main control. My best slicers cannot explain how it happened. Our only alternative is to cut the main computer core feed line from that station, but to do so will cause damage to the secondary navigational array."

"What is the nature of the breach?"

"They are attempting to activate the long-range communications array," Jastorich said. "They might have been able to breach the firewalls, but following your orders I have my best slicers operating a dynamic defense of the communications systems. They're not going to get through while I or my people have anything to say about it."

"Indeed," Thrawn said with a nod. "Can you pinpoint where exactly the breach is coming from?"

"Yes, sir! Secondary command nodule C-458D. All local defense systems were either damaged or destroyed. I was able to get some visual footage. The enemy appears to be employing a youth as a slicer."

"Interesting," Thrawn said. He turned to the deck captain. "Any sign of our furry little friends?"

"They have engaged our forces on the C4 deck, one deck up and five sections aft of that node," the captain said.

Thrawn nodded to the Jastorich. "Good work, Lieutenant. So long as your people keep the communications relay safe, I would rather eliminate the problem at the source than risk damaging navigational relays."

"Understood, sir. We'll keep those arrays safe. If necessary, we'll blow them before we let any signal get out."

"Very well, dismissed."

Jastorich snapped off a crisp salute and jogged back to her station. Thrawn turned to his ever present companion.

Kir Kanos no longer wore Imperial grays. He wore crimson red armor not seen in a decade or more, and even then only briefly. "Commander Kanos, I believe we have a Jedi problem."

"Not for long," Kanos said.

* * *

sp

**Author's Notes:**

Thanks to Vyrexuviel; dajohu; The-Knight2000; wawaboy2; Roosterman71; Manus Dei. I appreciate your reviews and comments.

Not any real questions I can answer (without giving away plot points) so I'll just say that the moment I realized that Thrawn was in the picture, I knew he would betray them. So, thanks to all for reading!


	39. The Battle for the Eclipse

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Battle for the **_**Eclipse**_

_They're coming for you, little brother_.

Jaina's warning in the Force repeated itself in his mind even as Anakin worked feverishly to batter down the defenses around the communications array. If he could somehow get a signal to the Alliance, they could dispatch another ship to give them a hand.

The slicers he was up against, however, were very good and it looked as if he had little hope of breaking through despite his affinity for machine language.

Finally realizing he could do little to break through, Anakin instead sent his consciousness out to explore other aspects of the computer core. He intercepted messages between the command deck and the defensive lines holding Admiral Kre'fey's people back. Kre'fey's attack was meant to be diversionary, and it certainly had the Imperials' attention. However, it wasn't enough of a diversion for Anakin to break through to the arrays.

It might be enough, however, for him to break through other barriers.

He could sense through the pathways of the computer core—which though almost a decade or more old were still state of the art—that all the computer defenses were aimed at preventing Anakin or anyone else from calling in reinforcements until the ship was fully operational. There were much weaker firewalls around the internal defensive networks.

Anakin felt a grin. If old Palpy could do it, why couldn't he?

Thrawn was walking toward his newly claimed ready room when the whole bridge flashed red. He saw three e-web blasters drop from the ceiling. "Down!" he shouted as the weapons opened fire.

They fired for less than a minute without actually hitting anyone before they disappeared. "Command, this is Jastorich! The hacker is now going after our defensive systems. I've disabled internal defenses in the command deck, but it has to be done section by section! I can't get to everything at once!"

"Lieutenant, this is Admiral Thrawn," the admiral said as he reached the nearest station. "Send notice to all personnel to destroy the local defensive systems."

"Yes, sir!"

Her voice disappeared and Thrawn shook his head. "Captain, any word on casualties?"

The deck captain was already leaning over, having already adjusted his uniform from his fall to the deck. "Sir, it looks like it took our primary defensive position completely by surprise. The Bothans were able to break through and have advanced two sections toward the command deck. We are holding them at present and I have dispatched reinforcements."

"The _Chimera_ will be here with additional personnel shortly," Thrawn promised. "Despite our unwelcome young guest, everything is proceeding as planned."

* * *

Anakin leaned back and wiped sweat from his brow. Subverting the defensive emplacements was a lot harder than he thought it would be. But it bought Admiral Kre'fey some valuable space.

It was only a whisper of warning in the Force that saved the young Jedi's life. He spun out of the chair just as a force pike sliced it clean in half. Spinning back to his feet with his saber at the ready, Anakin found himself facing an anachronism. It was an Imperial Guard, cloak and all.

"Are you ready to die, young Jedi?" Kir Kanos' voice said from behind the black visor.

"Oh come on!" Anakin moaned.

The Force-pike spun with near-Jedi speed. Anakin jumped away from the blow and _pushed_. Kanos seemed to be expecting the move and leaned into the Force-blow. It pushed him back but did not topple him as Anakin hoped.

Kanos surged forward with his staff spinning. Anakin deflected two quick blows before a foot broke through his defense and sent him flying out of the computer station and into the broad hall. Even before he landed, stormtroopers were shooting at him.

"That's not fair!" he shouted as he caught his fall on one hand, deflected two blasterbolts with his saber in the other hand, and flipped to his feet. Knowing there was nowhere to run now, he rushed forward with a yell.

The tactic surprised the fire line of troopers, who had no defense for close-quarters melee combat against a Jedi. Anakin closed his mind off to the death he was causing, thinking only of what had to happen for him to save Karia.

Another kick caught him by surprise just as he finished removing a stormtrooper's still-occupied helmet. The blow sent him tumbling into four more troopers, who actually softened his landing enough for him to jump back to his feet. He slashed down to remove the threat they represented a second before he had to jump away from Kano's further onslaught.

"You sure you're not a Jedi," Anakin asked.

"I was trained in part by your grandfather, Solo," Kanos snarled. "He gave me my scar. Is it surprising you're little match for me?"

"Yeah, well, granddad was a bit of a nerf-herder, wasn't he?" Anakin pirouetted out of a blow that would easily have removed his arm. Kanos attacked without hesitation or reprieve. There was no catching a breath. Nor relaxing or recovering. He moved with inevitable power toward his goals.

It started Anakin when he realized that despite all his Jedi training, Kir Kanos was a better fighter than he was. It was a curse he knew others of his kind had—how could any Jedi fall to a mere Imperial. And yet he knew that other older, better Jedi had fallen. The entire old order had fallen.

He could not beat this man by force of arms alone.

Which left the Force.

Anakin summoned the Force until his whole body tingled. Just as Kanos came in for a killing blow, Anakin let the power go with a cry. Kanos shot back and slammed into the bulkhead with bone crushing force. He fell back to the deck plates and somehow got back up again.

"You're an incredible fighter," Anakin admitted. "Better than me. But you chose the wrong side. The Alliance is our future. It's going to take everything good from the old Empire and the Republic and forge something greater than we've ever seen. I can't let you or Thrawn or anyone else take that from me."

"Ironic words coming from the grandson of a Sith," Kanos snarled. He straightened his shoulders and stood tall and proud.

"Not ironic," Anakin said sadly. "Appropriate. Grandfather was twisted and broken by your old master until he became the monster he once fought against. But at the end he gave up his life for the Light. I'm carrying on the legacy of my namesake, Kir Kanos. I will fight for what is right."

Kanos roared and surged forward as if he were never hurt.

Anakin reached out with the Force and squeezed. Kanos froze mid-step. His hands went to his throat as he gasped for breath. Anakin reached up one hand, his fingers closing together. "I am Darth Vader's grandson, Kanos. The only difference between us is that he would enjoy this. If I hate anyone, it will be you for making me have to kill with the Force in cold blood. Because I can't let you win."

In fact, there were tears in Anakin's eyes as he put more strength into the Force grip. Kanos pulled off his helmet in a desperate attempt to gain air, and Anakin could see the former Imperial guard's face, red as his armor.

"I'm sorry," Anakin whispered.

The hall reverberated with a snap. Kanos body fell limply back to the deck, followed a moment later by Anakin.

_Be strong, brother,_ he heard a familiar mind whisper in his. _You had no choice._

_That doesn't matter. I broke his neck with the Force, just like granddad did._

_Maybe,_ Jaina said. _But you did it to save lives. To save the Alliance. To save Karia. And because of what you did, I have an idea that might just free the girl you love._

Anakin sat up and wiped his tears. _I always thought Jacen was the thinker of you two_.

Because of their own connection, she could feel his mind and the thoughts he felt regarding her lost twin. Feelings of anguish, sadness and pain. She also knew why he spoke lightly—desperate to put some type of context on his brother's life.

_He was,_ Jaina admitted. _It's something Dad told me. You only have two choices in life—give up and die, or keep going. And I swear to you now, little brother, that I will never give up._

Anakin smiled through his own tears. It sounded like the sister he grew up with and loved. _Well, I guess I can't either, then. Couldn't actually have my sister think she's better than me, could I? So what do I do?_

_Do you remember the story of how Uncle Kale and dad saved mom from the Emperor?_

Anakin looked at the still figure of Kanos, clad from head-to-toe in red armor. _I remember._

Ten minutes later Anakin stopped fidgeting in the too-large armor, gripped the unfamiliar Force pike, and strode up to the line of stormtroopers blocking that section of the prow of the ship from the sensitive areas. "Inform Admiral Thrawn that the Jedi is dead," he said, making a show of patting his lightsaber.

"Yes, Commander," the trooper with the orange sergeant's shoulder pads said with a salute.

Anakin continued past the line, struggling to maintain an even pace. He could never imagine Kir Kanos running for any reason. _I'm through_, he thought. _Any idea where Karia or Mara are_?

_I do now. Admiral Thrawn gave me free rein to keep you out of the computer core._

_You mean that was you!_

_Of course. Only someone who knows you could do it. Right now it makes me look very good, so I was able to find them. They are being held in an anteroom of the admiral's on the command deck. I managed to deactivate the defensive systems, all of them. If you can make it onto the deck, you should be able to get into them._

Anakin started to nod but then stopped himself. He was now in a corridor thrumming with stormtroopers and technicians running about their tasks with a great sense of urgency. They stayed well clear of him in his red armor.

_What about you?_

_The moment you have them loose, I'm going to send a coded message to Dad. He and Ors have an _Imperial-II _class destroyer five light years out. _

_I didn't know dad was that smart._

_He was smart enough to contact Jan Ors for help. And we both know that Jan _is_ that smart._

Anakin risked a smile only because of the mask. Yes, Jan Ors was that smart. There was a good reason why she was the head of intelligence.

The walk alone took almost an hour, even with the occasional rides from hall vans. The main inner-ship transport hub was still down, which forced the Imperials to either walk or ride the small vans that they brought aboard.

As he approached the command deck, though, he came across more and more Imperials. He nodded back to those who greeted him but said nothing for fear of exposing himself as a teen-age boy pretending to be a warrior.

He knew the moment he stepped onto the command deck and saw Admiral Thrawn's red eyes on him that his attempted rescue was not going to be easy. The admiral was ringed by a good twenty stormtroopers.

"Your armor seems not to fit properly, Kir," Thrawn said dryly. "Perhaps you should remove your helmet and consider having it resized."

Twenty blasters were pointed at him. He sensed others around him. Stormtroopers were coming up the corridor behind him as well. _How did he know_? Anakin asked fate.

It was his sister who answered. _It doesn't even matter._

The three bridge e-web blasters dropped from the ceiling and opened fire.

"What is this?" Thrawn shouted in an uncharacteristic show of anger, even as a stormtrooper took a blaster in the back while pushing him to the deck plating.

Anakin knew an opportunity when he saw it. He exploded into motion, pulling on the Force and every moment of training he had ever received. While stormtroopers ducked to avoid the constant fire of the e-webs, a few still managed to get shots off at the red-armored Jedi. Anakin batted the shots away as he ran toward the antechamber where his girlfriend and hopefully future mother-in-law were locked.

Three slices of his saber got him through. He ignored the explosions and sounds of screams behind him as he tore through the narrow hall.

He emerged into an obvious brig. The four stormtroopers on duty jumped to their feet with respectable speed, but still were not fast enough as Anakin quickly cut them down. He looked back down the hall and saw more troopers coming. He activated the blast doors and stepped back as the armored door slid shut.

Only then did he turn to see the two Kryptonians.

Mara and Karia were lying in separate cells. They were arranged in a surprisingly tranquil pose, their hands on their stomachs. Their faces were distorted by faint expressions of pain, but otherwise they looked as if they were merely asleep.

Anakin removed his helmet and had the force-fields around them down in a second. The moment they dropped he rushed to Karia's side. The dart was still there, sunk almost an inch into her neck. He gripped it and pulled, surprised by how hard it was to remove.

He watched, amazed, as color flooded back into Karia's beautiful face. Eyes batted open, as blue as the most brilliant Naboo streams. "Anakin?" she whispered, still disoriented.

Outside, he heard a whine and saw a red spot appear on the blaster door. "Yeah, that's me."

"What are you wearing?"

"You like it?" he said lightly. "I think red's my color."

"It is kind of sexy," she whispered. "Why do I feel so strange?"

"Thrawn stuck a kryptonite dart in your neck," Anakin said. "They blew up the _Ralroost_ and are going to betray the Alliance."

"Bastard," she said. "Help me up, please."

He pulled her gently up and she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "You saved me?"

"Me and Jaina," Anakin said. "Dad snuck her aboard thinking Thrawn was up to something."

"That was smart."

Sparks burned through the hole and began moving down.

"Anakin?" Karia asked.

"Yeah."

"When we were forcing Palpatine off the ship…"

"Yeah?"

She pulled his head down and kissed him. More than kissed him. Heat and love and the Force burned through every pore of his body. When finally their lips parted, he felt tears in his eyes from the sheer _power_ of the bond he felt coming from her.

"I love you," she said simply.

"I love you, too."

_Great kriffing stars above, what was that?_ Jaina said through the Force.

_Karia's awake_, Anakin said. _She loves me._

Jaina's Force presence went silent for a moment, and then he felt a surge of happiness. _Yes she does. And so do I. Now get going. I had to blow cover to give you back-up and they're after me now too!_

Karia looked at the door that was slowly being burned through. "Take care of mother?" she asked.

Anakin nodded, still grinning. He watched as the woman he was going to marry stood and walked to the door without any regard to the sparks flying from it. He went to Mara and pulled out the dart just as Karia reared one fist back, and punched the door.

The blast door shot backward through the troopers trying to open it and into the command deck, where it imbedded itself through the head of the deck captain and into the armored plating that surrounded the deck itself.

Below him, Mara's eyes blinked once, twice. "Anakin?" she whispered in a hoarse voice. "Why are you glowing in the Force?"

He started laughing with giddy happiness even as Karia stepped into the hall and started playing havoc with Thrawn's people. "Aunt Mara," he said. "I love Karia more than I can say. When this is over, would you mind if I marry her?"

Mara's highly trained eyes and ears quickly assessed what was happening. "You saved us?"

"Me and Jaina."

Mara nodded once and then sat up with Anakin's help. She shook her head to free up the last affects of the poison. "I felt your bond," she admitted.

"I love her."

"And I love him!" they heard Karia shout through the halls.

"Just like her father," Mara said. "What is it about heroes and red-heads?"

Anakin shrugged. "You're all beautiful."

"And you're sweet. We'll talk about it after we save the Alliance."

"Yes, Aunt Mara."

She patted his cheek. "Anakin," she said softly, "if you're going to be my son-in-law, it's probably time to just call me Mara."

"I can do that," he said, still with that giddy grin.

_Poor Admiral Thrawn_, came Jaina's laughing thought.

* * *

Natasi Daala walked into her room in the palace on Alderaan and unbuttoned her jacket. She missed Liegeus and their son Wilgus. She missed the order and peace of Bastion. She missed being in control.

The new Secretary of State for the Galactic Alliance did not consider herself a nice person. Politics and leadership left no room for anything as innocent or as gullible as being nice. She knew from her early days at the Academy that she had to be twice as relentless and fierce as her male competitors. It is what brought her to the attention of Wilhuff Tarken, and it is what made her the Grand Moff she eventually became.

She had her defeats, some of them quite embarrassing. But with Gilad Pellaeon by her side to control the admiralty, she was able to look away from the defeats handed to her by the fledgling New Republic and instead clean house within the remaining empire. It was a rebirth by fire, and what emerged was a smaller, more efficient Empire. An organization she was proud of and would gladly have died for.

Giving it up for the Galactic Alliance was the hardest thing she had ever done, and continued to be difficult. She was unaccustomed to being just a single voice in a chorus. She reminded herself daily that she was just one person—that all those in the cabinet were wise and just.

She did not believe it, though. Not truly. Kale Naberrie was powerful beyond all reason. What she saw him do in orbit over Alderaan was more than just awe-inspiring. It was terrifying. And yet for all his power and his supposed intelligence, the man was a fool. He was a fool to resign from the Alliance years ago, and he was a fool to leave his new office to fetch his son. And now he was planning on personally leading the defense of the Kuati shipyards.

She shook her head in disgust as she poured herself a tumble of Alderaani brandy. It was only as she did so that she realized she was not alone.

Her hand dropped for a blaster that was simply not there. However, her reflexes were still there as she spun about, ready to defend herself against…Han Solo?

"Natasi," he said. He already had a tumbler of brandy in hand. He raised it to her. "Very nice, by the way. Never was much of a brandy drinker, but this stuff is good."

"What are you doing in here!" she demanded angrily. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Thrawn has betrayed the Alliance," Han said simply. "Pretty sure Gilad has too." He reached to the table beside him and slowly lifted an old but well-cared for DL-44 heavy blaster pistol, his trademark weapon. He placed it on his lap. "I just received a coded confirmation that Thrawn fired on and destroyed the _Ralroost_ and attempted to cold-start the _Eclipse_ on his own. I've also been told it is just one of two dreadnaughts."

Natasi felt her knees trembling as she fought for and found a seat near the bar. "You're lying."

"And just a few hours ago, the HMS _Chimera_ rendezvoused with the _Eclipse_ to provide additional personnel and support. Hence my conviction that Pellaeon was a part of this."

"I don't believe you."

"I have family on that ship," he said with sudden heat.

Natasi downed her tumbler. "So are you here to shoot me?"

"Stars know I should," Han said. "I'm here to find out everything."

"Everything? You know more than I do. I had oversight of the bureaucracy. I handed over the military to Gilad for a reason. For all my strategies and training, I kept losing to you. But when I turned to the Empire as a whole, I was able to accomplish everything I wanted to. Then the Vong came."

"And then the Vong came," Han said. "And out of nowhere comes a Chiss with his own _Eclipse-_class star dreadnaught and a fleet of ships already staffed and ready to fight. How could you not turn to him?"

"What are you saying?"

"You of all people should know how hard it is for a non-human, or non-male to make it into the ranks of the admiralty under Palpatine. I was an Imperial officer myself for many years. Thrawn not only did it, but was elevated to Grand Admiral before his death. This new Thrawn is his clone and so would supposedly have all his traits. Brilliant tactical skills and planning unsurpassed by anyone. He must have somehow known the Vong were coming, Natasi. He knew. Ships like that take years with all the resources of the Empire. With his small region in the Wild Regions—my people tell me ten years minimum. And yet here he comes at your most crucial moment of need to save the day."

Han leaned forward and peered at his long time adversary. "Why did he wait?"

"Are you saying he purposely let Bastion and Coruscant fall?"

"Are you going to argue he didn't? As much as I have hated you over the years, Natasi, you're still one of the smartest people I know. Think about it."

"But if you suspect I had anything to do with it, why bother asking me?"

"Because I know now you didn't," Han said with a shrug. "I mean, why bother informing you at all? If Gilad and Thrawn delivered the galaxy to you free of Vong or the New Republic, would you refuse?"

"Of course not." Her quick answer surprised neither of them.

"And so why make you a part of this before it's done?" Han asked. "The question now, Natasi, is what are you going to do?"

She nodded slowly, then stood and poured herself another glass of brandy. "If you remove all Imperial representation from the cabinet, you'll lose the Empire."

"Exactly."

"You may lose them anyway," she said. "Thrawn is the Hero of Bastion."

"Thrawn may be brilliant, but he made one mistake. He hurt Kale's wife and daughter, and my boy's girlfriend. The Vong learned that's a bad idea at Helska."

Natasi felt her pulse quicken. "Does Naberrie know?"

"No. Not yet. But when he does heads will roll. Not Thrawn's, of course. The attempt to take over the _Eclipse_ was unsuccessful. My family personally stopped the attempt and freed Mara and Karia Naberrie. Mara killed Thrawn. The _Chimera_ opened fire, but was destroyed by an Alliance cruiser I had stationed nearby. The _Eclipse_ is now safely under Alliance control and is en route for personnel."

The sad thing is, Daala thought, it was a brilliant move. With two superlasers to augment the Imperial fleet, both Vong and Alliance forces would have to fall back. As powerful as the Vong ships were, not even their most advanced dovin basils could block the destructive force of a weapon that could crack continents in half. With Thrawn in command, all enemies would flee in fear.

But as always, somehow, someway, Solo and his people discovered what was happening. _Family_. What an odd way of saying it. "You sent both your children," she finally realized.

"I needed a Jedi who answered to me first," Han said. "Jaina puts her status as a pilot above her status as a Jedi. Drives her mother crazy."

Daala wondered if she would have the courage to send her own son into danger. "If I agreed to work with you, what would happen?"

"Gilad is going to resign quietly, and you would be appointed to replace him as Vice President. Thrawn may be a hero, but it's very well known that the Empire respects you. You were a good leader to your people, and they will follow."

"And if Gilad resists?"

"He is old. The stress of the job has been taking its toll."

"I never pegged you as a cold-blooded killer."

"My son and daughter faced a megalomaniac who wanted to rule the galaxy on a super weapon. At this point I'm willing to kill anyone who gets in my way."

"Which is why Kale doesn't know."

"I love that man," Han said. "He is a great figure to lead the people. But you and I know the hard truth, Natasi. To truly lead, you must make sure your back is safe. Not all of us are invincible, after all. I was a general for long enough to know when to get my hands bloody."

"And if I say no?"

Han patted his pistol.

"You know, if you appoint me vice president, I could rule the galaxy one day anyway. Do you really wish to threaten a potential president?"

Han shrugged. "Right now I'm just talking to an old friend."

"A friend?" she said with a raised brow.

"A respected colleague, then," Han amended with a smirk. The smirk fell away. "I need an answer, Natasi. And I need it now."

The door opened and two Alliance soldiers stepped in. Both had blue stripes on their pants, indicating they were part of Jan Ors' intelligence organization, Alpha Blue.

"All right," she said. "Keep my family safe, and make sure that Gilad is well-treated, and I will cooperate."

"Good to hear," Han said. He stood and holstered his weapon. "It's going to be a fun day tomorrow at the cabinet meeting."

* * *

sp

**Author's Responses:**

**Vyrexuviel**--The problem was ratings on my HP fic, and I've just decided to do a Yahoo group for it. I'm still posting, though. For all it's problems, is the best overall database I know of for fanfic. It's hard to get away from it.

**dajohu**--It was a toss-up between Bizarro and Doomsday, and I decided Doomsday was the better threat, and really, his physical appearance does look like something the Vong might have.

**Manus Dei**--Thanks. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

**War-Torn-Her**o-Hehe.

**Exodus5**--You're right that it's numerically in the Kryptonian's favor, except that it's Doomsday. And this chapter proved you were right on with the second part.

**prudiisten**--Yeah, he should have known better.

**The-Knight2000**--This was just the intro, of course. There's more to come ;)


	40. On the path to Kuat

Author's Responses at the end.

* * *

**Chapter Forty: On the Path To Kuat**

Danni Quee was unprepared for the size of the newly named _Eclipse-_class super dreadnaught _Liberator_.

She knew the stats, of course. Had them memorized, in fact. Seventeen and a half klicks in length with a class 2 hyperdrive. Over five hundred turbolasers in addition to another five hundred and fifty laser cannons. It came with ten gravity well projectors, which would be useful against the Vong dovin basils. It could carry thousands of troopers and whole wings of fighters.

It also required a crew of over seven hundred thousand beings to be fully manned.

The Alliance was able to call up about half that, but the three hundred and fifty thousand beings now running the ship were among the best, made up of equal parts Bothans, Mon Calamari and humans, with a fair sprinkling of other species as well.

And Danni was going to be one of them.

"You look good in the uniform."

Danni turned and saw Jor's brilliant green eyes staring at her. On any other man she would have thought such an expression would be one of wanton desire. On Jor, it was desperate need. Not for physical love, but for acceptance. Forgiveness. He still carried the shadow of Qahsel in the scars on his face, and the deeper scars below. She suspected that, like her, those scars would stay with him for the remainder of his life.

But when Danni accepted Jan Ors' request to head the intelligence division on the Alliance's new secret weapon, Jor had not hesitated a single second. And so the _Liberator_ was not only gaining a newly commissioned captain of Naval Intelligence, she was gaining a Kryptonian Jedi seeking absolution for sins he had no choice but to commit.

After a moment of silent scrutiny, Jor turned his attention back to the windows. She noticed one brow lift up. "Uh, Danni, is that…is that an old _Venator_ class cruiser?"

Danni leaned down and saw where he was pointing. Faded black and maroon hull paint. Twin conning towers. "Yep."

"That thing wouldn't last a second against even a modern Star Destroyer, much less a Vong ship."

"Probably why it's empty," Danni said, smiling despite herself. She was in intelligence, after all.

"What do you mean? And…by the Force, is that an old Confederation battle cruiser? Danni, what's going on?"

Others in the transport shuttle also noticed the archaic relics that were assuming orbit around Alderaan.

"They're empty, of course," Danni said. "Maybe ten, twenty people with a bunch of droid brains hooked into a small orbital maintenance thruster pack. Just enough to make sure they don't fall on the planet."

Jor still showed no understanding. It was in these quiet moments, when her mind worked overtime, when she remembered that though he was a super strong and lethal fighter, Jor-El Naberrie was still a teenager. One she somehow fell in love with, but a teenager nonetheless. "We're attempting to make the Vong think we have more ships than we do," she explained softly.

Jor's eyes lit. "Ahhh. I get it. If the Vong were going to try a feint, now they'll think twice. It won't only free up ships to defend Kuat, but to enable the liberation of Coruscant."

Though he was slow to grasp the idea initially, he caught up quickly enough. Jor was many things, but stupid was not one of them.

That's when they caught sight of _Liberator._ It was still the dark gray color of its armor plating, and if not for the sun setting behind it to cast it in shadow, it would have been nearly invisible. As it was, the shadow of its profile threw everything around it into darkness.

"Karia said it felt like they were flying into the underworld," Jor whispered. "I believe her now."

"We'll be standing on the brink of hell, that's for sure," Danni said. She took her young paramour's hand in hers. "It's a big ship, Jor, but it's not impervious."

"I know," he assured her. "It'll make a big target for every gun the Vong have. That's why I'm coming. If nothing else, I can go out and throw a few fighters around. I'll do whatever I can to help."

She patted the hand. Sometimes, he was as eager as a beevertil pup. "I know you will. And I'm glad you're coming."

She looked back out at the monster. She was glad he was coming, because truth be told she was absolutely terrified. Her terror was not just relegated to her new role, but also of the coming battle. It wasn't her first battle. In fact, after the hell she survived on Coruscant, she was frankly surprised she could feel any fear at all. And yet here she was, scared as if she were a complete amateur.

Jor squeezed her fingers, and when she turned to smile at him again, she understood at least on some level where the fear came from.

What if she lost him to the darkness again?

What if Jor-El fell?

She fought an urge to shudder. "Everything will be fine," she said aloud.

* * *

President Kale Naberrie read the report with a quickly darkening expression.

The rest of the recently pared down cabinet sat in absolute silence. Above the planet orbited the newest weapon in their arsenal—an _Eclipse_-class super dreadnaught recently christened _Liberator_. Already crews of mostly NRDF-trained engineers, gunners and specialists were crawling all over it to familiarize themselves with the controls.

Across the table from Kale stood Gilad Pellaeon. The former admiral stood at military rest, his hands clasped behind his back. His stomach ballooned out, more from age than lack of good fitness. His mustache twitched slightly on the left side, but otherwise the man said nothing.

"Secretary Daala," Kale said at. He looked up and latched a pair of brilliant, icy blue eyes on her. "Were you aware of this operation?"

"I was not, Mr. President," she said.

Kale looked back at Pellaeon. "The question I see isn't whether to accept your resignation, Gilad. It's whether I should allow you to leave alive."

Pellaeon made no show of acknowledging the threat on his face. His voice was clear and even. "I have and always will serve the Empire. In this last attempt I regret only that I was unsuccessful. However, I am not an ungracious loser. You and your family won. We have nothing left to fight you with."

"You have an _Eclipse_," Kale said.

"With respect, Mr. President," Daala said, "no, he doesn't."

Kale raised a brow and Han cleared his throat. "And soon as we got confirmation that Mara retook the first ship, we infiltrated the second. Secretary Daala's help was essential in the second operation."

"You've been busy, Han."

Han shrugged without a hint of apology.

Kale looked back at the seemingly imperturbable Pellaeon. "And what are your plans, Gilad?"

"I'm going to go home," the former admiral said. "And spend time with my great grandchildren while they are still young enough to be enjoyable."

"Do you give your word before this body that you will never again attempt any insurrection against the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances?"

"I do," Pellaeon said simply.

"Your resignation is accepted. Thank you for your service, Mr. Vice President."

Pellaeon nodded crisply before turning to leave the room. Once the doors were secured, Kale turned his attention back to Daala. The whole room could feel the surge of Force energy about the two.

After a moment, Daala looked down at the table. "I truly didn't know," she said into the silence.

"Thrawn's pet Empire must be brought under control," Kale said. He spoke coldly, much more so than anyone, even Mara, had ever heard.

"I've already contacted Moff Seretti, and he put me through to Soontir Fel. He was Thrawn's second in command and the human ambassador to the Chiss Ascendancy—Thrawn's people. I've made it clear that the Alliance controls both super weapons, and that I have put the full weight of the Empire behind the Alliance. He is speaking to the leadership of the Ascendancy now."

Kale looked back to Han.

"Looks like the Vong are beginning to mobilize," he said. "As we suspected, it looks like they're going after Kuat first."

"Could it be a feint?"

"Yep, sure could. That's why we've been raiding the ship graveyards for anything with an intact hull. From the Vong's perspective, our fleet size just jumped from one to two thousand capital ships."

"And how many can actually fight?"

"About the original thousand," Han said. "That's why we're only deploying one _Eclipse_ to Kuat. The other will remain here with the decoy ships and a picket fleet of another two hundred ships. I'll be the first to say this is a huge gamble. Right now we're leaving a good portion of the galaxy wide open. It's only luck that the Vong have chosen this moment to consolidate before striking further."

Kale put down the holoreader with Pellaeon's resignation letter and Han's report of the _Eclipse_ incident, and simply stared down at the table. He was barely even aware of his wife's hand on his shoulder. "Kale?" she whispered.

"Too many people have already died," he said softly. Even though his voice was just above a whisper, everyone in the room heard him clearly. "The Vong are a cancer, slowly eating away at the health tissue of the galaxy. I had hoped that we could reach some type of settlement with them, but after reading the reports from Intelligence about the mass sacrifices on all Vong-controlled worlds, I've come to release that these beings are the antithesis of life. They pervert living things to do their will, while murdering billions in the name of blood-thirsty gods." He looked up at his cabinet. "How can we even hope for peace while they exist?"

"We can't," Han said with absolute conviction. "You cannot co-exist without respect. The Vong are incapable of respecting any other sentient being but themselves. While Vong culture survives, they remain a threat to the whole galaxy."

"Total war," Kale said, echoing his acceptance speech. He looked around the cabinet table. "I want a plan of battle assuming the successful defense of Kuat. I want a plan of battle accounting for the complete eradication of the Vong species from this galaxy. May the Force help me, I am asking for you to plan a genocide."

After the tense meeting, Mara found her husband on the familiar balcony that had become his favorite haunt since they arrived on Alderaan. He stood silently staring up at the sky, his hands clasped behind his back and his feet shoulder-length apart.

He heard her coming, of course. He could _feel_ her, just as she could feel him. But after so many years of marriage—after her illness and the agony of losing their son to a monster, only to get back a damaged and scarred child in his place—neither felt the need to talk.

So she simply walked to his side and put an arm around his waist. He reciprocated with an arm around her shoulder, but said nothing.

The silence lasted for nearly five minutes before Kale touched the ear piece he always wore now. "Winter?" he asked.

The regent of Alderaan had assumed the role of his secretary—a position of greater power than many would have assumed possible.

"Yes, Kale?"

"Please let Han and security know that my wife and I are going for a flight."

"Should I send a shuttle for you?"

"That would just slow us down."

"Understood. Have fun."

Kale removed the ear piece and put it on the balcony rail. Mara stood and watched in continued silence as he lifted ever so slightly from the balcony floor. "Fly with me?" he asked. There was something in his voice that made Mara's throat catch. In that one second, he sounded like the adorable, shy teenager she fell in love with on Naboo—the one she thought she had killed.

"Okay," she said. She too lifted off the balcony as she took his hands. Without letting go, the two soared into the sky.

From their perspective, they could see the changes wrought on the once pacifist world. Millions of soldiers and naval personnel had moved into temporary barracks beside the stately natives. Somehow the squat, functional military buildings looked obscene next to the pristine, beautiful architecture of the native humans.

Eventually, though, they left the population centers behind and flew over the ancient Killik fields, long since abandoned. They flew over mountains as beautiful as they were cold. They flew faster than even most shuttles could go in an atmosphere, though Mara rarely felt a breeze. She knew that Kale was using the Force as a deflector for the wind—it was a skill she was still learning.

"Will you tell me?" she asked after they had flown for nearly an hour.

Kale came to a halt, floating up on the edge of the breathable atmosphere. He pulled his wife to him, like they did on Naboo when they were both still young. His kiss left her tingling with desire.

When their lips parted, though, she saw anguish in Kale's eyes. "Tell me," she said softly.

"Pellaeon is not going to keep his promise."

It was not a question. Kale _knew_. For that matter, so did Mara. "No, he won't. He is a man of undivided loyalties. I have always respected him, even when I served the Emperor. And because of his loyalty, he will die before he allows his Empire to disappear."

Kale's eyes shifted off her and focused on the distant gleaming towers of Aldera. "Han made an unofficial recommendation that Pellaeon be assassinated after he returns to Bastion. He said we needed to make it look like an accident with full plausible deniability." Kale snorted. "Plausible deniability. Is that what being a leader means? Learning to avoid the truth so I don't have to tell outright lies?"

If she hadn't been married to him for a quarter of a century, Mara might have given him the pity he thought he wanted. But she knew better. "Yes, that's exactly what it means. Palpatine was many things, but he was a shrewd politician and knew that some enemies are too dangerous to allow to live. If we imprison Pellaeon, he becomes a rally cry for Imperials. If we try and execute him, he becomes a martyr that tears the Alliance apart. But if he goes home and dies of old age, then he will simply fade into memory as the rest of the galaxy moves forward."

Kale snorted. "Sometimes I let myself forget your first occupation." Again, if not for their years together that would have been a stinging insult.

"You shouldn't," Mara said. "That background is what's going to get you through your term and this war. You remember on the Death Star, when you had Vader in your grip? You let him go."

"I remember."

"You didn't want to kill him in cold blood."

"He was beaten," Kale said. "He had nothing left to fight with and…he almost wanted it. I could feel how tired he was, and not just from the fight."

"If you had killed him," Mara said, "Leia would never have been taken. You would still have faced Zod and his harpies, but Leia would never have been taken. You chose to do the noble thing and it almost got your cousin killed, and it certainly scarred her. Sometimes, Kale, you can't afford to be noble. Sometimes the hardest part of your role isn't dying for your government, but killing for it. We can't afford any more Darth Vaders, Kale. Or Gilad Pellaeons."

"And what happens when I run out of real enemies? What happens when I start executing real good-guys?"

"That's when your family steps in to kick your ass," Mara said straight-faced.

A shadow passed over them. Both looked up as the massive _Liberator_ eclipsed the sun. "Jor and Danni are aboard that ship," he said.

"Karia and Anakin are on their way to the other," Mara reminded him. "Along with two hundred thousand other beings."

Thinking of his daughter and Anakin managed to bring a slight smile to his lips. "Did he really propose to her?"

"He did. And she said yes. And though you haven't had time since we got that monster in orbit and they shipped out, when you see them you're going to give him a hug, her a kiss, and you're going to bless the engagement."

"I am? Mara, they're only teenagers."

"I felt their bond when we drove out the Emperor, Kale. As much as I do and have always loved you, the love they feel for each other left me a little breathless. Pure, innocent, selfless love. I don't care how old they are—they are meant for each other and I don't see the point in keeping them apart any longer than we have to. When the war is over, I want to let them marry."

Even the President of the galaxy knew when to pick his battles. "A traditional Naboo wedding," he said. "She'll be so beautiful in her dress."

"I know."

They continued to float, long after the shadow of the super dreadnaught moved on. Finally, coming to a decision, Kale said, "Please let Han know he is authorized to take whatever action regarding the former Vice President he feels is in the best interest of the Alliance."

"I will, Kale," Mara said. "I love you, you know. Don't ever doubt it."

"I'll try not to." Holding hands, the two sped back to the chaos awaiting them in Aldera.

* * *

Danni had her own pit on the command deck and a staff of ten analysts. Two were Bothans, one was a Zabrak, and the other seven were humans. The Zabrak was the eldest and her second in command—a woman named Shala Altooat.

"Captain," Altooat said when Danni stepped into the pit for the very first time. The other analysts snapped to their feet and saluted.

"At ease," Danni said. All of them turned and looked as Jor followed. "As analysts I'm assuming you know this is Jor-El Naberrie. He will be serving on board the ship as a resident Jedi and an auxiliary crewmember. He has no specific duties other than the defense of the ship. We…he will likely be close by often, so please do not be frightened or concerned."

"Hello," Jor said with a restrained nod.

"I read through all your files," Danni began, "and see that most of you actually have more military time than I do. So I want to make clear that though I am coming from the civilian side, I was given this post by Director Jan Ors and Secretary of Defense Han Solo personally. What I lack in military training I make up for in experience with the Vong. Because I do not have a military background, I may not be as hardnosed as you may be used to. As long as we get the job done and you do nothing to embarrass this unit or yourselves, you'll find I'm easy to get along with. If not—well, I'm told Lieutenant Altooat was a drill instructor before she moved over to Intelligence. I have no doubt she could think of something for you to do."

The Zabrak turned to the rest of the pit crew and threw a genuinely frightening smile. "Oh yes, they'll stay in line."

"Very good," Danni said. "Our main job will be to serve as an asset to the tactical station, but on a fleet-wide scale. We have already learned to crack Vong communications, and I know at least two of you are budding Vong linguists. We are going to give our people every opportunity we can. We're also going to be looking for every weakness we can find to exploit. So, let's get to it—the _Liberator_ ships out in four hours."

* * *

Karia and Anakin held hands and stood in the back of the bridge of the GFFA cruiser _Nova_ as she came out of hyperspace. Behind her came two transports carrying two hundred thousand engineers, technicians and officers.

Karia felt Anakin's hand flex when they saw the fleet awaiting them.

In the front of the ship, Wedge ordered a channel open. "This is General Wedge Antilles with the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. By joint order of President Kale Naberrie and Vice-President Natasi Daala, I am here to take command of the super dreadnaught _Eclipse II._ Please respond."

A brisk voice responded. "Welcome to Bastion, General. This is Moff Saretti on board the _Eclipse II._ I have spoken with Vice-President Daala this morning by holonet. On her recommendation, the Moff Council and Admiralty have fully ratified the Alderaan Accords. Therefore, the former Imperial Territories respectfully present this fleet for the common defense."

"That is good news," Wedge said with obvious relief. "We'll begin transporting personnel shortly."

"Very good. I look forward to seeing you."

Anakin turned to Karia with a puzzled expression. "So the agreement Pellaeon and Daala made on Alderaan wasn't binding on the Empire at all?"

"No, it wasn't," Wedge said. "We had a team of experts go through it again and the language Pellaeon and Thrawn insisted on required that any binding agreement had to be ratified by the Moff Council. Now that we have that ratification, the Empire no longer exists."

Karia shrugged. "Well, it would have saved us a lot of trouble if they'd done that earlier."

Antilles grinned. Like all the old-timers who flew with Han in the old days, he adored both these teens. The way they walked around holding hands was almost too adorable for words. "Well, Karia, you know us old people. We have to make everything as difficult as possible."

"That's what old people do," Anakin agreed.

* * *

The people of Kuat did not notice the increase in ship traffic at first. As the home of Kuat Drive Yards, Kuat had always been one of the major centers of commerce in the galaxy. For twenty-five thousand years, since the Kuat Family led in the formation of the Old Republic all the way through the Imperial years, through countless wars, Kuat had persevered. Even with the death of Kuat a few years after the destruction of the Death Star, the matriarchal society continued on.

So when the first handful of GFFA star destroyers and Mon Calamari star cruisers arrived in orbit, it was simply assumed that the ships were there for simple maintenance. Little was noted as more and more ships trickled in.

Then the influx stopped.

On the outskirts of the system, the Yorik-Stronha spy ship that resembles nothing more than an asteroid noted that only two hundred ships had arrived in orbit. A similar device on the outskirts of Alderaan confirmed that the fleet there had ballooned in size and now had easily a thousand ships. The monster ship that the infidels called the _Eclipse_ was spotted near Bastion, having evidently left Alderaan.

Receiving all the data, Nom Anor allowed himself the luxury of a tight grin. The Supreme Overlord was demanding an absolute victory to appease the gods after their defeat at Alderaan, and the blood of millions of infidels had been shed to secure such a victory.

It was Nom Anor, and not Reck Desh or the monster Tasii'Chaasta, or Doomsday, as Nom Anor's human slaves now called it, that would deliver that victory.

The time to destroy Kuat had come.

* * *

sp

**Author's Responses**

It feels good to know we're approaching the end of this fic. I've been working on it for a long time. The last set of chapters are with my Beta. As soon as I get them back, I'll start posting.

Q: Too bad we didn't get to see Thrawn's death...

A: Wasn't much to see. Mara was absolutely ruthless. She is no Kale--when faced with betrayal she kills without hesitation.

Q: Han seems to have aged well...

A: Frankly I like my Han far, far better than the Han from cannon.

Q:Not sure i buy Daala not knowing about it. In some ways, she seems to be almost Thrawns equal in deviousness in the novels.

A: Plausible deniability. She may have suspected, but it makes sense to ensure that at least one of the Imperial triumvirate remains safely separated from the conspiracy. This is especially important because, as Han and Daala both realized, they had to have an Imperial presence in the government to keep the Imperial Remnant in the Alliance.

Q: Very cool, interesting how Anakin mirrors Vader, killing someone in the same way, but for entirely different reason

A: That's just one of the many things about the NJO that irritated me to the point I stopped reading. Anakin was consistently prejected as having an important future, but on a whim Lucas changed his mind and he died. Lucas was afraid of the two characters both being named Anakin. For me, it was a chance to really demonstrate how different they were. Then again, if Vader had a Kryptonian girlfriend, he wouldn't have fallen in the first place.

Q: Han was ahead of it all.

A: With age and experience comes wisdom. Mix that with a liberal dose of street smarts and you have my Han Solo.

Thanks to all of you for reading. I really appreciate it! Also, for those interested, I've submitted the first set of chapters for The Last Jedi to be beta read. My new Beta assures me that this was a good idea on my part.


	41. The Battle of Kuat

Author's Responses at end:

* * *

**Chapter Forty-One: The Battle of Kuat**

High Master Shaper Ch'Gang Hool bowered deeply to the Supreme Overlord. "Dread Lord, Tasii'Chaasta will soon be ready to do your bidding."

"It has been weeks. You told me he would be ready in a matter of days."

Hool bowed again. "As you say, Dread Lord. The shaping of the creature beyond the birthing chamber has proven a unique challenge. His skin is nigh impenetrable even by our strongest cutting devices. Unlike the Kryptonians, he is not weakened by the light of a red star. In fact, we have yet to find a weakness at all. Such a weapon cannot be released until we know he shall be loyal to you."

Shimrra Jamaane sat very still on his throne. "Are you suggesting I could not control this beast?"

"Dread Lord," Hool said. "On my life, if this weapon were to break free of the shaping, no force in the galaxy could control it. We have created a weapon to kill the most powerful beings we've ever encountered in two galaxies. It is therefore unsurprising the weapon itself is more powerful still."

Not for the first time, Jamaane found himself wondering what his familiar Onimi would have said on this occasion, but then angrily dismissed the thought. The idea that his familiar was using the blasphemous Force on him was an offense beyond any forgiveness.

"Be quick, then," Jamaane finally relented.

"It shall be done, Dread Lord." Hool bowed and backed away from the throne.

A few moments after the shaper left, the newly elevated Warmaster Nas Choka strode into the room with the ever obsequious Nom Anor a step behind and to his left. Choka bowed. "Dread Lord, the Prefect here informs me that the infidels have only shifted two hundred ships to the defense of the Kuat Drive Yards. Almost all other ships remain at their capital."

Jamaane turned to Anor. "You are sure of this, Prefect?"

Anor bowed from the waist. "I am, Dread Lord. My spies on Alderaan tell me that the sky is filled with the infidel ships. The _Eclipse _that concerned us has left their space entirely and has been spotted along the Imperial Remnant border. Only a handful of ships guard their most precious shipyard.

"Could this be an attempt to lure us into a trap?" Jamaane asked.

Choka bowed. "A most excellent question, Dread Lord. I have viewed the images taken by the yorik-stronha personally. There are over a thousand capital ships in orbit of Alderaan. By the time they were able to mobilize a fleet of that size, the yards would be destroyed. Even if it is a trap, it is a trap we are too swift to be caught in. Most especially if I dedicate three Koros-strohna to the fleet. We shall crush the infidels' ship-production facility, which will then allow us to turn our attention back to the Imperials. Once the Imperial threat is removed, we can destroy the infidels at our leisure."

"Then let it be so," Jamaane said. "Bring honor to your clan and slaves for the gods."

"It shall be done," Choka said with a bow. He turned and left, with Anor a step behind.

When he was once again alone with his own thoughts, the Supreme Overlord thought he once again heard his dead familiar—this time laughing at him with a wry, grim humor.

* * *

Lieutenant Altooat was the first to note the increasing holonet traffic signals. Then Warrant Officer Chakles noted through long range scanners that the mines along the transfer point between the Corellian and Hydian hyperroutes had been triggered.

"Do we have an indication of how many mines?" Danni asked.

"All of them," came the response.

Danni forwarded on her data. With a ship this size, getting up to make a manual report just seemed stupid, especially when they had the computer core restored sufficiently that her data was instantly displayed on the tactical readouts.

As much as she liked to think she was special, she knew she was just one source of information among many, and that tactical no doubt had their own sources confirming the data.

Suddenly the ship's intercom blared a short clarion. "Attention, this is Admiral Kre'fey. We've received intelligence indicating Vong movement heading toward Kuat. As you know, Kuat and Alderaan are very close neighbors. If we lose this fight, we've lost the war. So we're not going to lose. All personnel to battle stations. We will be making the five minute hyperspace jump from our current staging area to Kuat in ten minutes."

"They're not even going to know what hit them," Jor said from the steps that led out of the pit.

"That's the idea," Danni said with more confidence than she felt. It seemed through the whole of the war that nothing was as simple as it should have been.

In one of the twenty fighter bays spread through the _Liberator_, Colonel Inyri Forge grinned at her squadron. "Major Solo, Major Varth, are your teams ready?"

The two women stood and saluted sharply. "Ready to go, Colonel."

"When they assigned me to Rogue Squadron, they never said it'd become a girls-only club," the rookie, Dakorse Teep, muttered.

"Keep that up, and we'll make sure you fit in," said Leth Liav, the only Sullustan on the squadron.

"Let's suit up and get in our fighters," Forge snapped. "We launch the moment we revert from hyperspace."

* * *

As Jor and Danni, Jaina Solo and Admiral Kre'fey prepared for the coming battle, the rest of the galaxy watched. It was no secret that Kuat was the single most important ship production facility in the remaining Alliance space. Other powers, such as the Hapes Consortium, which had been recently ravaged by civil unrest before the current Queen Mother, Tenel Ka Chume Ta'Djo, assumed control, waited to see which way the wind blew. She, like many others of the fringe powers in the galaxy, waited to see if the newly birthed Alliance could fight and win against what had seemed an unbeatable foe.

Planets that had collapsed on their own either because of Nom Anor's effective instigators or through their own terror, also watched. Everyone watched to see what would happen. For many, it seemed as if the fate of the whole galaxy hung in the balance.

* * *

"Captain," Altooat said. "We have confirmation that Vong forces have emerged in orbit over Kuat and have engaged the picket forces."

"Acknowledged," Danni said as she forwarded the reports. "Any sign of the worldships?"

"No…yes! Three worldships have emerged."

"They fell for it," Danni whispered. "Force help us, they fell for it."

* * *

Nas Choka looked upon the rings of ship yards that circled the planet with hatred. Not disdain, for the enemy had proven that even with their cold, dead machinery, they were able fighters. It was hatred for everything the ring represented. The infidels sucked the life from the rocks themselves to make their horrid monstrosities.

"No sign of additional support," Commander Carr said. "Only the ships originally noted. They are forming into a defensive screen to protect the planet."

"We punch straight through," Choka said. "We shall give them all the deaths of warriors. The gods shall drink their fill of blood this day."

* * *

The Vong invasion of Kuat emerged from hyperspace in a multi-tentacle approach in honor of their yammosk. The three worldships served as the anchor and belched out thousands of coral skippers into the heavens. The fleet of two hundred picket ships opened fire, but against a superior number of almost five hundred Vong cruiser-analogues and three worldships, they had little help.

It seemed a disastrous defeat was in the making for the Alliance, but only for a few moments.

The _Liberator_ reverted from hyperspace at a vertical angle to the plane of the attacking worldships fifty thousand kilometers out, much like a seventeen-kilometer arrow honing in on a spiral-shaped target. The superlaser fired within seconds, even while behind the massive dreadnaught six hundred capital ships also reverted to real space.

The superlaser, a weapon sufficiently powerful to blast through any planetary shield and pierce the continental crust of most planets, sliced through the hastily raised gravity well shields of the dovin basils that crawled about the worldships. A beam of green light as thick as a freighter punched into the exact center of the worldship on the right of the formation. The resulting explosion lit the theater like a second star. When the light faded, both sides watched in stunned silence as three large portions of the thoroughly dead worldship drifted away from each other.

The effect on the Vong fleet was immediate. All ships spun about on their axis to confront this new threat. Coral skippers by the thousands changed course, only to be met by the entire fighter fleet of the Alliance, almost two thousand fighters comprised of X-, K-, Y- and A-wing fighters.

Danni watched the battle holistically, much like her counterparts in tactical. She knew Admiral Kre'fey and General Keyan Farlander were doing the same, while lower ranked admirals were directing individual captains and fighter squadrons on their orders.

She saw the way red-marked dots representing Vong ships closed in on the front lines of the Alliance fleet. Though they had the element of surprise and a superlaser, the Vong still had fearsome ships and a willingness to die fighting.

She heard the whole ship thrumming as the recharging cycle finished and it fired a second time, completely destroying the second world ship.

"Why aren't they retreating?" Altooat muttered.

"Vong don't retreat," Jor said, surprising the crew in the pit. "They will fight until they die, or until they've killed their enemy. Their greatest goal is to shed blood in battle to honor their gods." He stood, then. "It's time for me to go."

"I know," Danni acknowledged. "Good luck."

"You too. I…" He smiled sadly, suddenly unable to say the words.

"I know," Danni smiled back.

Suddenly the ship rocked as it came under direct attack. "Here we go," she said.

Further away on the command deck, Admiral Kre'fey noted Jor running quickly across the deck. "Get that enemy ship away from the _Liberator_," he snarled.

"On it," Farlander said. "All fighter squadrons, provide defensive screens for the _Liberator._ Protecting this ship is your primary responsibility until further orders."

The squadron colonels clicked acknowledgment as the fighters moved to impose themselves between the coming threat and their greatest weapon.

"Just as we thought," Farlander said. "They're attacking this ship directly."

"Sound tactics," Kre'fey said. "Remove the largest threat first. We have two more minutes to recharge and then we are withdrawing. We can't afford to lose this ship."

Back in the intelligence command pit, Danni noted an approaching Vong frigate-analogue veer suddenly off course and slam into a fellow Vong ship. She smiled as she signaled command that Jor was active.

* * *

"The infidels are firing again!" Commander Carr shouted. He did not sound desperate; he was enraged. Choka understood that rage—for the infidels to bring to bear such a weapon was completely without honor. Worldships did not carry just soldiers, but also men, women and children. Their whole race crossed the endless void between galaxies in such craft, and many Vong lived on them still.

The remaining world ship was the largest of the three at almost ninety kilometers wide. It dwarfed even the _Liberator_. However, not all the power in the galaxy could prevent it from dying as the superlaser lashed out a third and final time. Ninety-eight thousand Yuuzhan Vong on board a vessel that had seen eight hundred years died in the blink of an eye.

"The infidels are withdrawing the weapon," Carr said, speaking now in a voice dripping with cold fury.

"A trap," Choka said. "This was a trap. Somehow, they have increased their ship production. We have been betrayed, Carr. Nom Anor betrayed us."

"The day is not over," Carr noted. "We can yet win the day."

"And we shall," Choka said. "Or die trying."

They dismissed the _Liberator_ as it withdrew from the battle. That left the initial thrust of the Yuuzhan Vong forces deep in Alliance lines. Choka ordered the attacking bulge to return to the main sphere of the invasion to preserve ships that he did not wish to carelessly throw away, and turned his attention back to the rings.

"Warmaster!" Commander Carr hissed. "The beast returns!"

"What?" Choka turned and stared at the master villip in stunned silence as the _Liberator_ returned from the opposite side of the battle. "What trickery is this?"

The superlaser fired at a mere fraction of its total power, and a Vong cruiser disappeared in a flash of light. Just thirty seconds later, another died. "I shall not lose the Supreme Overlord's fleet this way," he said. "Order all ships to return to Yuuzhan'tar."

Carr nodded and passed the order through the villips, and it was only then that the Alliance's true strategy became clear.

The incoming Alliance vessels never sought to directly engage the Vong fleet. Rather, it formed a globe containing the enemy against the planet. It was a dangerous ploy since they could have devastated Kuat, but Choka recognized an endgame. They were willing to lose all or a portion of their fleet yards, if in return they destroyed the invaders. After all, yards could be rebuilt.

He saw that the original picket fleet maintained its position, despite heavy losses in the initial moments of the invasion.

"We fight for our freedom," Choka said.

* * *

Danni and her crew watched and recorded everything the ship's huge array of sensors captured as the Alliance destroyed the enemy fleet. Once more the Vong surged toward the _Liberator_ to attack. This time their thrust was met with gravity well projectors that disrupted the dovin basils on their ships. They were met with a squadron of interdictor cruisers and missile boats. They were met by a superlaser that on 10% capacity could still fire two ship-destroying shots every minute.

They were met by a Kryptonian who hung near the outer hull of the _Liberator_ and knocked down any enemy ship that came too close.

The pincers of the Alliance fleet closed further, making the gauntlet either to break through or to reach the _Liberator_ that much more difficult. The debris of dead ships added to the gauntlet. Vong capital ships literally shredded apart as they made a desperate attempt to ram the dreadnaught. One actually managed to break through, only to find itself spinning rapidly out of control as Jor grappled with it and threw it back into the path of another approaching enemy vessel.

"Admiral?" Danni was surprised she could hear General Farlander's voice. The command deck had grown quiet as they watched the enemy get slaughtered. "Do we offer terms?"

"No," came Kre'fey's immediate response. "For their crimes against all sentient species in this galaxy, the GFFA has declared a state of total war. There shall be no surrender nor quarter given. Any Yuuzhan Vong that takes up arms against a citizen of this galaxy shall be killed. There are no exceptions, General."

"Understood," came Keyan's response. Danni realized then that the question and answer had been rehearsed for the whole command deck. They wanted everyone to hear that this slaughter was the will of the people and government of the Alliance.

For her part, Danni realized she felt no sympathy for the Vong at all. She was watching millions of them perish in what had become a hopeless but courageous attempt to destroy the _Liberator_, and she still felt nothing for them at all, except perhaps hate. She doubted she would make a very good Jedi, even if Jor tried to convince her otherwise.

It was not completely one-sided slaughter, of course. The Vong were nothing if not vicious. When the final enemy ship was destroyed, Danni had the names of two hundred and forty-three capital ships that had been destroyed, and over five hundred fighters.

She did a quick search and saw with a sense of relief that Jaina Solo's fighter was still intact. In fact, Rogue Squadron lost only two pilots.

Perhaps they really were the best.

"Captain," Altooat said. "We've received reports from fighters doing visual inspections of the worldships. It appears that the ships had Vong civilians on board."

Which meant women and children.

Suddenly Danni remembered the shaper, Nen Yim, digging into her body for eggs. The leer on her face as she violated both Danni's mind and body. "Lieutenant, I spent more time among the Vong that anyone here, save perhaps Jor-El Naberrie. And I can assure you that there is no such thing as a Vong civilian. They are simply weapons that have not matured yet."

Altooat looked distinctly uncomfortable for a moment, before hiding her thoughts behind a professional mask. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Compile all data for the after-action report," Danni said. "This one is over."

* * *

sp

**Author's Responses:**

jxr1--My apologies for killing Jacen instead of Anakin. One of them had to die, and I frankly despised Jacen's character from the first pages of Vector Prime on. I never read the young Jedi Academy stories, so maybe that's why my perspective is different. Sorry. As for Qahsel--it is, as far as I can tell, as close to a true Yuuzhan Vong name as I could come, derived from their word for something or another. It was all detailed and well thought out. If I still had the notes from it, I could tell you. Sorry.

Manus Dei--The assassination plan was something I had difficulty with. At first I was just going to have Han order it done, but I figured Kale would figure it out eventually, so I had Han be honest. But the truth is there is no way they could let him just return. The Pelleaon from canon would not just go quietly into retirement once back in the Remnant, and neither would this one. More importantly, they knew it. So it was a case of making the hard, amoral choice for the good of the whole. As Exodus 5 would say, there's no right or wrong in government.

Anyway, we are very quickly approaching the end of this story. I believe after this we only have four or so more chapters to go, and we will finally be done.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing!


	42. The Tides of War

Author's Responses at the end:

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Two: The Tides of War**

Commander Vorrik screamed in rage as another of his destroyers died under the infidels' beams. "How did the weapon get this far so fast?" he demanded of his Intendant. "The insult at Kuat was only days ago!"

The Intendant bowed. "It appears to be a second ship."

That stilled Vorrik's cries of rage as for the first time in the commander's life a small knot of cold fear formed in his chest.

His fleet had over a hundred ships and should have easily been a match for what was left of the Imperial Remnant. However, when his fleet reverted to destroy the holonet relays at Esfandia, he found himself facing a seventeen-kilometer nightmare couched in a screen of ninety Imperial Star Destroyers and interdictors.

"What is left?" he demanded.

"We have less than a quarter our fleet left," the Intendant said after consulting his villip.

"If we are to die this day," Vorrik declared, "it shall be with the blood of our enemies on our lips. Order all ships to ram that blasphemous weapon!"

As happened at Kuat, the star destroyers formed a funnel that forced the Vong cruisers into a too-tight formation that made for easy pickings for the _Eclipse_ super dreadnaught. On the command deck, General Wedge Antilles compared notes with Moff Saretti.

"This is exactly what Kre'fey said they did to him," Wedge noted.

Saretti nodded. His normally cheerful face was cast in a somber expression. Nearby, Karia and Anakin listened since neither had a real role other than to serve as ship security. Instead, they watched and learned.

"And like Kuat, we cannot afford to take prisoners."

"Not like they're going to let us," Wedge said.

"Why won't they surrender?" Karia found the courage to ask.

"Because, Miss Naberrie," Moff Saretti said with a kind smile that still seemed at odds with his Moff's uniform, "their belief structure does not allow them to. I understand mentioning Admiral Thrawn is not very popular in present company, but he was still a remarkable study of sentient beings. In observing the Vong, Admiral Thrawn determined that they were a stratified, dying society. They did not choose to come here; they had to. They were a people cast out among the stars, and only their belief in their own superiority and that of their gods saw them through the journey. The possibility of peaceful co-existence with us never even occurred to them. For them to allow us to live would be an affront to their gods, who promised them this galaxy. And for them to surrender to us is an admission they failed their gods. In their minds, it is better to die with their gods than be shunned and alive in surrender."

"In other words, they're crazy," Wedge said.

"Quite," Saretti agreed.

The two teens looked from the unusually friendly Imperial Moff to the eager, normally friendly general, and realized that the two men were quickly becoming friends.

Karia and Anakin shared a smile. They would take credit for that friendship, whether it was theirs to claim or not.

"The command ship has been destroyed," Wedge noted as his tactical team updated the tactical displays. "The battle is over."

"Losses?" Saretti asked.

"Twenty star destroyers lost, another ten suffering significant damage," Wedge noted. "For a hundred enemy ships destroyed."

"Our best showing of the war," Saretti agreed. "Two key victories in a matter of days. The tides are turning."

"You just wait until the Hapans join us," Anakin declared. "Tenel Ka is the Queen Mother now."

"Indeed," Saretti said. "I look forward to meeting her."

* * *

Boba Fett was having a bad day.

In fact, Mandalore itself was having a bad day. The Mandalorians were fighting an effective rear-guard action, but could do little about the ships in orbit as their own fleet had been driven off or destroyed.

"I knew working with Karrde would be a mistake," he muttered for the tenth time. He had no doubt in his mind that the invasion of Mandalore was a direct response on Nom Anor's part to punish Boba for his role in the Coruscant raid.

"Enough, Boba," Goran Beviin said. The two warriors were approaching the entrance to one of the many tunnels criss-crossing the planet's surface to scan enemy movements. They reached their goal and peaked over the lip of the well-concealed cave.

"Chazrach," Boba snorted in disgust. "Slimy little reptoids."

"True, but ten thousand of them is still an army," Beviin noted. "And mixed in a dozen rakamats like that and it's a big damned army."

Both men heard the sound of mechanical engines whining in the distance and looked up in surprise to see a flight of X-wing fighters streak overhead. As they watched, a dozen canisters fell from their stomachs.

"I think we should duck," Beviin announced.

The ground shook violently under a massive explosion. Both Mandalorians were not willing to risk their armor as they ran further into the reinforced tunnel that was designed to withstand direct barrages from orbit. "What in Mando'a's name were those?" Beviin said when at last the shaking mountain stilled. Moments later an aftershock hit.

When a third aftershock came and went, Boba Fett said, "Seismic charges. My dad used to use them too. Hear tell Solo made the fleet start using them."

The two men went back up and witnessed a scene of chaos. Despite the devastation of the air assault, two of the rakamats and those chazrach directly within their strange shields had survived. However, they were being fired upon by an approaching force which included their mechanical equivalents.

Imperial AT-ATs and AT-STs were marching on Mandalore, ripping the confused Vong forces to shreds. Only then did Boba risk looking up. Even from the ground, he could see the long black wedge-shape in the sky while on the horizon brief bursts of light signaled the death of the invading Vong fleet.

"This is Talon Karrde to Boba Fett, can you hear me?"

The two Mandalorians shared a long look. "This is Fett," he said through his helmet com.

"Good to hear from you," came the jovial response from Karrde. "I heard a rumor that Mandalore was under attack. I figured I owed you one after Coruscant. So I convinced the Alliance that Mandalore would sign with them if we helped break the attack. I sincerely hope I'm not made to be the liar."

"We already helped the Alliance on Coruscant," Fett pointed out.

"And that help was greatly appreciated," Karrde said. "I understand Jedi Knight Jor-El Naberrie is actually on the _Liberator_ as we speak. I'm sure he'd be glad to meet you. In the meantime, will you align with the Alliance for the duration of the war?"

"There are Imperial walkers on my planet," Fett growled.

"Which are destroying the Vong walkers that were already on your planet," Karrde pointed out. "But we can go if you wish. The Vong have already dispatched a relief force. We were planning on engaging it, but we can withdrawal if you don't wish to align."

"Bastard," Fett muttered. "Fine, yes. We'll align with the Alliance."

"Good news. We already have the paperwork drawn up. Captain Danni Quee and Knight Naberrie will be in route shortly to secure your signature as the Mandalore of the Mandalorians."

"Fine," he said. "Wait, wasn't she the crazy blonde girl we pulled off Coruscant?"

"She is," Karrde confirmed. "I understand she's feeling much better now."

"Great."

* * *

Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane stared at the master villip with an unreadable expression. Around him his council of clan leaders, high priests and master shapers said nothing. Nom Anor was noticeably absent.

In the past two weeks, the Alliance had destroyed two major fleets in Esfandia and Kuat, and a smaller fleet at Mandalore. And now the infidels were attacking Bilbringi. The only bright spot in the entire fiasco was Master Shaper Nen Yim's mabugat kan, which managed to destroy the infidel communication relays in the area. So there would be no reinforcements.

That was the good news.

The bad news was that the Alliance and Imperial Remnant seemed to have fully integrated their fleets. His villip showed Imperial TIE interceptors and Chiss clawcraft flying side-by-side with Alliance X-wing fighters, while Imperial Star Destroyers flew side-by-side with Mon Calamari star cruisers to funnel the desperate Vong forces into what even Jamaane's top advisers were beginning to call the Death Funnel.

They were losing the war because of two ships.

"Our warriors fight with great pride," the new Warmaster, Ashaad Kraakis said. "They are killing many of the enemy."

"They kill the enemy over the blood of their brothers," Jamaane said. The council chambers fell silent once more.

"Their next targets are most likely Fondor or Duro," Kraakis said, after acknowledging his master's words.

This set off a discussion among Jamaane's warriors on how to best defend the worlds. Despite everything that happened, despite crushing defeats his people had never experienced since leaving their home a millennia ago, Jamaane noted with disdain that the discussion centered on the production of new ships from the shipwomb at Sernpidal. Of two new Koros-strohna and dozens of smaller ships.

On the villip, the last of the ships at Bilbringi came to a fiery end by crashing into one of the star destroyers. Jamaane noted how the infidel's destroyer cracked in half before its reactor blew.

"What is the size of the new Koros-strohna?" Jamaane asked.

His voice cut through the discussion, leaving only silence in its wake. It was Kraakis who answered. "The largest is but twelve kilometers in width, Dread Lord."

"It is mature enough for dark space flight?"

"Yes, Dread Lord."

"The world called Fondor—have we destroyed all their blasphemous ship production facilities yet?"

"Not yet, Dread Lord."

"Do not do so yet," Jamaane said. "Withdraw half our fleet from Duro. Leave only those warriors who are old, human slaves and chazrach. I want the rest at a point ten minutes from Fondor by dark space jump. I want the new Koros-strohna with them. It is to be mostly unmanned."

"Lord?" Kraakis asked. He still wasn't seeing it.

"We are going to use the infidels' tactics against them," Jamaane said. "And we will destroy that blasphemous weapon of theirs."

* * *

"Jaina?"

There was no answer. Leia touched the door signal again. "Jaina, it's your mother."

Again, no answer.

With a surge of the Force, the lock released and Leia stepped into the darkened room.

Because the _Liberator_ was running at approximately one-third its normal crew size, it was not necessary for all personnel to share cabins. The pilots for instance only shared rec rooms, but each had their own room.

Jaina's was a mess. Leia saw with a hint of disapproval that dirty uniforms and dirtier work overalls littered the floor. The walls were bare—not a single holo or picture to be seen. In fact, other than clothes Jaina had done nothing in her month on board to personalize her living space.

No, Leia realized, there was one thing.

A holo of Jacen rested on the wall by her bunk. It was an older one, of him on Naboo swimming in a lake of water so blue it looked like liquid sapphire. Leia didn't remember the scene, and thought sadly that it must have been during one of the many periods where they were afraid for their children and sent them to live with their cousins for a time.

Next to the picture lay Jaina herself. The young Jedi pilot was obviously awake and stared up at the bottom of the next bunk. There were actually four bunks in the room, though only one held a mattress.

"This isn't a good time, mother," Jaina said. Her voice was hoarse.

That's when Leia realized what the smell was that hung over the room.

Alcohol.

"Jaina, have you been drinking?" Leia whispered, stunned that her little girl would be drinking. Jaina might have been a pilot, but she was also a teenager. In fact, she was just eighteen—too young to drink legally.

"I'm a pilot, it's what we do in our off time," she muttered.

"Your father is a pilot, Jaina. And I can tell you that in all the years we've been married the only time he drank alone was to get drunk."

Jaina rolled toward the wall without saying anything.

Leia crossed the debris of dirty clothes and sat on the edge of the cot. She noted how her daughter pulled away from the depression her weight caused on the mattress. Gently, she laid a hand on Jaina's shoulder.

"We never talked, did we?"

"Do we ever?" Jaina muttered.

"No, I suppose not," Leia said. "Your father and I had a very long discussion about how he sent you undercover with Thrawn's forces."

"Glad he did. Anakin wouldn't have made it by himself."

"Yes, you performed well. Like a true Jedi knight. Jacen would have been…."

"Don't you dare!" Jaina snarled, jumping up suddenly to glare at her mother. "Don't you dare try to tell me what _my_ twin brother would have thought! You were never even there, how could you know? You were either the leader of the galaxy or the leader of the Jedi. Dad was the only parent either of us ever had."

Leia reared back. The words were meant to hurt, and because of her love for this young woman, they struck true and deep. "You're right," she admitted. "I had a choice between duty to my children, and duty to the galaxy. And I sometimes wonder if I made the right choice."

"It doesn't matter." Jaina spun back around and slammed back to the bed. "They're all dead anyway."

"Not everyone…"

"I know about Lowbacca, mother."

Leia's hand, which had reached for Jaina again, fell limply to her waist. She reviewed every lost Jedi personally, and saw with sadness that Lowbacca was one of five Jedi killed in their raid on Myrkr. The raid had been successful and the voxyn queen was destroyed, but at terrible cost.

"So," Jaina continued without looking at the head of the Jedi Order, "let's see. That makes Jacen," she ticked off a finger, "Kyp, Lowbacca, Zekk, Master Ikrit, Sannah…" She stopped when she realized she was out of fingers on that hand and squeezed her eyes shut. "And that's not even touching on the pilots we've lost."

Leia was a consummate politician and a powerful Jedi. She knew, however, that she was never as good a mother as she could have been. As she sat and looked down at the tears leaking from her daughter's eyes, she did finally realize that sometimes there were simply no words. There was no one thing she could say to bring comfort to a soul made old and weary at just eighteen years.

Instead, she laid down next to Jaina, put an arm around her daughter's too-narrow waist, and hugged her. She was crying too, she realized, but that was okay. Without words, the two Solo woman lay on a cot and cried together.

After several minutes of silent weeping, Leia pulled back a wave of her daughter's beautiful brown hair and whispered, "I love you, dear. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me. But I'm here now."

"Because of Lowbacca?"

"Because of you. When they decanted you from the bacta chamber you ran back to the fleet before I had a chance to talk to you."

"I didn't want to talk to you."

"I know. But you see, I'd just lost my first-born son and I wanted…I needed to talk to you," Leia said. "I know he was your twin, Jaina. But he was my son."

Jaina squeezed her eyes shut. "Sometimes I can still feel our bond," she admitted in a choked voice. "Like a whisper on the edge of my mind. I'll have a funny thought and I'll reach out to share with him, but he's not there. And then I'll see Jor standing there with my brother's blood on his hands and…." She couldn't continue, and the weeping suddenly, without any warning, turned into great body-racking sobs.

Leia held her close without saying anything. She held her daughter close until the fit was over.

They spent the whole afternoon together. Leia ordered food and, as Secretary of State, she had more than enough clout to ensure only the best was served. She had the laundry droid come in and gather up Jaina's wardrobe for cleaning. And as they ate lunch together for the first time since well before the war started, they spoke.

They talked about the recently successful campaigns, about how Jaina earned her promotions through her actions to help saved the _Liberator_ from Thrawn. About flying under the more experienced Inyri Forge.

Finally, they got around to Anakin.

"You should have been there," Jaina said. "I could feel it from the bridge when he kissed her."

Leia blinked. "You could feel them kiss?"

"I could feel their Force-bond," Jaina said wistfully. She was drinking Ithorian tea now instead of the whiskey that occupied her morning. "It was…it was beautiful, Mom. Like a fairy tale. I didn't know people could love each other like that. And they're so cute together. Anakin asked Mara to let them marry when the war's over."

"He's not even seventeen yet!"

"Mom…they're already married in spirit. Keeping them apart will just make them miserable. Besides, it's Mara's daughter, and she said yes. When the war's over, he has Mara's permission to marry."

Leia shook her head. "Remarkable. And here I was thinking how young I was when I first met your father. We didn't marry until I was twenty-five."

"Yeah, but you were sleeping with him before then."

Leia shifted as the conversation moved into uncomfortable territory. "It was different times."

"Not that different," Jaina said. "Don't worry, there's no one I'm interested in. The Solo honor is still safe."

"Yes, well, the Solo piloting gene may be getting a boost soon."

"What do you mean?"

"You know that Corran was a pilot with Rogue Squadron during the civil war?"

"Yeah?"

"He's proposed the creation of an elite squadron mixing Jedi and non-Jedi pilots. He already has a rooster in place. He wants you to serve as his second."

"What Jedi?"

"Alema Rar—don't give me that look. Let's see, who else? Jaden Kor wants on. And Corran of course. The rest would be from existing rosters. Corran said he found a human pilot from the Chiss Ascendancy that was quite good, and is willing to join. Plus some others you know. Zindra Daine, Tilath Keer. Han says it's as good a pilot roster as he's ever seen. And he was including his own roster when he was a colonel."

That piqued Jaina's interest a little. "This clawcraft pilot—his name wouldn't be Jagged Fel, would it? Wedge Antille's nephew?"

"Maybe."

"He flew with us at Mandalore. He's a fair pilot. And I know Jaden's good. She's almost as good as I am. But what I don't get is why Master Horn would want me second instead of Alema or Jaden."

"Jaden's greatest strength is on the ground," Leia said. "And Alema doesn't want it. In fact, Corran may not be long either. But I think the idea has value and gave all the knights in question permission to join."

"You came to give me permission?"

Leia smiled. "No, you are your father's daughter. You put the uniform before the robes, I know that. But I think you should consider it."

"Okay, I will," Jaina said. The two women looked at the chrono on the wall and realized they had been speaking for almost five hours.

"Stars," Leia said, "I need to get moving!"

"Yeah, I have to get ready too."

They stood and stared at each other awkwardly for a moment in silence. So much had been shared, some of it too intense to mention. So instead Leia simply reached over and hugged her daughter. "I love you, Jaina," she said softly.

"Me too, Mother," Jaina said. "I…er…thank you. For…you know."

"Yes, I know," Leia said with a smile. "Be well."

Jaina nodded and watched as her mother walked out of the room.

* * *

sp

sp

**Author's Responses: **

I will admit this last chapter was for the Jaina fans that rightfully pointed out she did not have enough screen time. Although this story was primarily about the Naberries, the fates of the Solos are just as important.

I am thrilled to say that we are almost at the end. After this only three chapters remain, and I will finally be done with the entire Red Sun story verse.

So, dajohu, The-Knight2000, Roosterman71, Manus Dei, pruidiisten, wawaboy2 and Mireilles3, thank you so much for your support. While I've not had a large audience for this fic, that just makes the reviews I do get that much more appreciated. Thank you!


	43. The Overlord's Folly

**Special Author's Announcement:**

I would like to make a special thanks to Jedi-2B for her work in beta-reading this story. Jedi-2B has beta read more than half of Gods of Dark and Light, Heaven Falls: A Jedi on Earth; the Legacy of the Red Sun Trilogy; and finally this story. Her dedication and expertise made a huge difference and I cannot thank her enough for all she's done.

This is the first of the last four chapters, all of which I am posting at the same time. This is it, the end of the Legacy of the Red Sun story. It's been going on for a couple of years now, and I cannot thank those of you who have read and reviewed for your support. While this none of the stories garnered a lot of reviews, Children at least won several awards in the last TF.N fanfic awards. I am grateful for that support. I hope you enjoy these last few chapters.

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Three: The Overlord's Folly; The Correllian's Gambit**

Lando Calrissian was by all accounts a lucky man. Whether gambling for cities in the clouds to putting all his assets into a Dubrillion mining operation, Lando always managed to find a way out.

Though he had suffered his share of losses, he looked across at his wife and considered that he was so far ahead of the game little things like lost business ventures just didn't matter.

Tendra Risant Calrissian was the lady to his luck. With a business acumen as great if not greater than his own and fixed family assets sufficient to ensure that acumen was well used, she was everything Lando never realized he needed in a woman, until he met her.

"What?" she demanded.

"You're beautiful," he said smoothly.

"Yes, I know," she said absently. "There's another one we can use."

Lando followed the coordinates she entered and nodded. "Looks good. I'm tagging it."

The _Lady Luck_ shot out a quick marker round that slammed into the target.

Behind them, a refitted _Lucrehulk_-class battleship erupted with a swarm of droids to begin the job of reprogramming and reactivating the _Munificent_-class cruiser. Around them, the Albion-V shipyard hung silent with the skeletons of thousands of old warships, including the entire moth-balled Confederation of Independent Systems droid fleet.

"So did Han say what he wanted with these?" Tendra asked. "More decoys for Alderaan?"

"Not this time," Lando said. "He wants the ships fully functional. Including droid fighters. It's going to be a surprise."

"Some surprise," Tendra said.

"With Han, it usually is," Lando said. "The man has a habit of surprising friends and foes alike."

* * *

As Jaina Solo walked the halls of the _Liberator, _she considered the approaching battle. She knew Fondor was going to be different. After all, Kuat was a defensive action. Esfandia was a defensive action. Mandalore was a relatively small engagement.

Bilbringi was the very first truly offensive action the super dreadnaught had engaged in, and they learned a lesson that took almost a month to repair with all the personnel the Kuat Drive Yards could afford. Though General Farlander and Admiral Kre'fey were able to free the planet, the _Liberator_ had taken severe damage and they almost lost it in some of the fiercest fighting of the war. And Jaina lost her wingman from Rogue Squadron.

Though ships could be replaced, trained manpower was reaching such critical points that teenagers like Jaina were being promoted to officers, and some worlds were instituting military drafts.

A bright spot leading up to the planned invasion of Fondor was the presence of a fleet of twenty Hapan Battledragons. The warships were sufficiently powerful to make a legitimate difference in the coming battle, and were proof at last that Tenel Ka had formally aligned the Consortium with the Alliance.

As Jaina suited up in her new Saber Squadron uniform for the first time, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement. As hard as things were, the war was progressing quickly. It felt like there was light at the end of the tunnel.

She stepped into the briefing room for the squadron and saw Master Horn already there. He had shaved his beard and looked ten years younger in his uniform. Jaden Korr sat near the master, looking radiant in her navy-blue uniform. She decorated her lekku with golden rings, and her sapphire skin set off everything she wore perfectly. She was also one of the most accomplished knights in the Order and was one of Kyle Katarn's first apprentices.

Alema Rar could have been Jaden's older sister and in fact sat next to her fellow Rutian Twi'lek. Jaina didn't know the Jedi's whole story, but knew it was long and tragic. She was one of the few survivors of the Myrkr strike force, and Jaina could see pain in her eyes.

The others she knew from past flights. Zindra Daine and Tilath Keer, good old Voort saBinring, the only Gamorrean she had ever met who could do advanced navigational physics in his head, much less count past his fingers like most Gamorreans.

The two newcomers sat on the edge of the bench. She stilled a moment of discomfort when she saw a pair of red eyes staring at her from a blue-skinned face. The pilot looked like a younger version of Thrawn, though his black hair was much shorter. Next to him sat a young male with a ragged scar on his otherwise handsome face.

This, then, was Wedge's nephew. Jagged Fel, the Imperials' top pilot.

She took a seat next to him. "I heard you're supposed to be good," she said.

He turned and gave her a long, appraising look. "Aren't you a little young to be a pilot?" was his response.

Jaina, being a beautiful young woman, was not expecting that response. She was expecting him to ogle her and fawn on her. Surprisingly, she found his laconic response refreshing. "If you think I'm young to be a pilot, then you'll definitely think I'm too young to be a major."

"Hell, Jaina, I think you're too young to be a major," Corran said from the front of the room. "But age aside, you've proven yourself worth to carry the rank. After all, we have the ship we're in because of you. Please join me up here."

With a wink at the now inscrutable Fel, Jaina sauntered to the front of the briefing room.

"This is likely to be the most important mission we'll ever be in. As you know, we're scheduled to invade Fondor," Corran began. "This was the second of three campaigns Supreme Commander and Secretary of Defense Han Solo termed Operation Trinity. Duros is the third target in this operation. This is what we know for sure. Two days ago the Vong removed all but a token force from Duros. Additionally, we have intelligence indicating that the Vong have diverted almost half their fleet from Coruscant. However, those ships have not reappeared. Even so, Fondor has a fleet of almost a hundred ships and ground forces numbering close to a million, both Vong and Chazrach.

"That's what we know. Here's what we think. We believe the Vong are attempting to compensate their tactics to deal with our superlasers. Our experts tell us there is nothing the Vong have in their arsenal that can match a super-laser. The mechanics of power generation provide an absolute limit to what the Vong can accomplish with their biots. So they are going to have to use tactics to equal out our superior firepower. And right now there is a fleet of almost seven hundred destroyer-analogues and five worldships unaccounted for."

"You think Fondor is a trap?" Jaina said.

"Absolutely," Corran said without hesitation. "If we attack Fondor, we could be faced with losing not just the _Liberator_, but all of the Second and Third fleets. And that, ladies and gentlebeings, is why Supreme Commander Solo has changed the plan. We are not going to Fondor."

Jaina felt a thrill of excitement running through her veins. "We're going to Coruscant," she whispered.

Corran grinned. "We're going to Coruscant. The decision was made last night after President Naberrie appointed Han Solo as both Secretary of Defense and Supreme Commander. We're pulling out all the stops for this, people. Elements of the First, Second, Fifth, Sixth and Ninth Fleets in conjunction with Hapan and Remnant forces will descend on Coruscant with both superlaser-mounted dreadnaughts. Not only that, but the President of the Alliance himself will be participating in the attack with his whole family."

"Is that wise?" Fel said. "What happens if the President is killed?"

"If the Vong have anything that can kill a Kryptonian, then we're all done for," Corran said. "Most especially when there are four of them fighting as a team. Our best estimates are nearly ten million Vong on Coruscant. The president has declared no quarter. With those kinds of numbers we're going to need every advantage we can get.

"The first order of business will be space and air superiority. We have intelligence from the Coruscanti underground that militia units are still active and will be assisting in the invasion. Our new allies from Mandalore have managed to infiltrate the planet and are assisting the militias in this task. This will be the single largest military action ever undertaken in this galaxy. Not even the first invasion of Coruscant can compare. We could see the beginning of the end of the war with this battle.

"But for us to pull this off, the Vong must believe the attack on Fondor is real. And that is where the droids come in."

He continued to give the elite squadron the details of a plan Jaina's father developed. As he continued to talk, Jaina felt an immense pride in her father. The plan was as brilliant as anything any blue-skinned, red-eyed admiral could have come up with. The fact that he planned it with his old friend Lando Calrissian was simply further proof that Han Solo was a genius in and of himself.

* * *

The Invasion of Fondor began with the reversion from hyperspace of six hundred ships of varying sizes. They were unfamiliar to the Vong defenders, some of them being ring-shaped, while others were longer and sleeker than the normal Alliance ships.

Then the target the Vong leadership was waiting for appeared. The seventeen-kilometer-long wedge-shaped craft appeared in the middle of the odd fleet even as a whole swarm of fighters disgorged from the other ships in the invading fleet.

The existing Vong coral skippers and attack ships responded and battle was joined. The individual fighters noticed that their enemies appeared to be unmanned. They were fighting droids.

In point of fact, they were fighting the remnants of the Confederation Droid Army from the Clone Wars that saw the end of the Old Republic. _Lucrehulk-_ and _Munificent_-class starships resting in metal graveyards for seventy years were suddenly given new life by the efficient machinations of Tendrandro Arms. Vulture and Hyena droid starfighters swarmed in the tens of thousands in this last chance to fulfill their original programming.

They were no match against the Vong ships individually, or even in groups of five. But in swarms of fifty droids for every Vong warrior, they began to have a real impact. It was in fact enough of an impact that it drew out Jamaane's master stroke. Four worldships emerged from darkspace almost on top of the invading Alliance forces, and from the midst of the four came a fifth much smaller worldship that surged forward toward the massive silhouette.

Its spines sawed right through the surface of the massive vessel, as if it weren't there.

Warmaster Kraakis stared without comprehension as the inverted cloaking field failed. What had been a seventeen-kilometer silhouette disappeared into a one-kilometer-long star destroyer variant with a specialized cloaking field that, rather than hide the ship, instead projected an energy and visual signature of an _Eclipse_ –class ship.

"We have been made fools of," Kraakis swore angrily.

* * *

Kale strode the halls of the _Eclipse_ with Mara and Karia at his side. Anakin was actually in an X-wing fighter, prepping for his part in the battle. "Are we in range?" Kale asked.

"Almost," came the voice of General Antilles. "Admiral Kre'fey has signaled the _Liberator_ is in position. All fleet elements are ready to go on your word."

"And Fondor?"

There was a moment of silence while Wedge checked with Fleet Intelligence. "Mr. President, it appears Supreme Commander Solo was correct. The Vong appeared in overwhelming force and attacked the decoy. The bulk of their forces are now two days out from Coruscant."

"Then we have two days to get this over with and prepare a welcome for them," Kale announced. "General, the word is given."

* * *

Twelve hundred ships appeared on the edge of Coruscant's gravity well in a virtual wave of Cronau radiation.

Across the planet, every yammosk sounded the alert. In his damutek, the Supreme Overlord roused himself from a troubled slumber and ran to his master villip even as his advisory council arrived to inform him of the impossible.

Fondor had been a feint. The entire Galactic Alliance was at Yuuzhan'tar now.

The Supreme Overlord growled in rage and went in search of Harrar.

* * *

The two worldships in orbit around Coruscant died in simultaneous blasts from the two _Eclipse-_class dreadnaughts. The massive warships then opened fire on the remaining fleet of five hundred Vong capital ships along with their smaller escorts. With such overwhelming numbers the Alliance was able to cut a path right through the defensive screens.

In the cavernous docking bay of _Eclipse_, Kale stood on the edge of space with his wife by his side, and both his children. All were dressed in the black Kryptonian battle suits he obtained from Hoth, each with the house of El symbol on their chests. Around them, troop transports were already flying toward the surface to deliver the force that would liberate the capital of the galaxy.

"Are we ready?" Kale asked his family.

"It's actually kind of neat," Karia said. The other three looked and she smiled at them. "We've never done anything like this together as a family."

"And I hope we never have to do it again," Kale said. He took Mara's hand in his right, and Karia's in his left. He looked and saw that Mara had taken Jor's hand. "I've never been more proud of you," he told them. "Let's get this over with." He pulled on his air mask, as did the others.

With set expressions of determination, the four Kryptonians flew past the force fields into open space while around them the Alliance ground forces continued to drop down the well.


	44. No Quarter

**Chapter Forty-Four: No Quarter**

The _Liberator_ reverted near the hyper lane transfer point with its fleet of five hundred Alliance ships fresh off the fleet battle over Coruscant just twenty hours previously.

The battle still raged across the surface of the former capital, but the battle in space was done. With all troops disgorged, it was time to do some clean-up.

Frigates began laying down the minefield as soon as they reverted. They knew they had only a matter of hours, possibly less.

The timing was still close. Just twenty minutes after the last mine was laid, Warmaster Kraakis and his Fondor fleet reverted to real-space, only to be hit by a mine-field he thought he had already cleared. The first line of cruiser analogues rocked under the unexpected destructive forces of Class-V Seismic mines. Multi-megaton explosions ruptured unprepared hulls before the harried dovin basils could raised their null-point shields. Ships died quick, painful deaths. Still, Kraakis has enough ships in the fleet to absorb the losses.

Until, that is, his villip showed him what was waiting for him. "What is this?" he demanded, even as the _Liberator_ fired its first shot at an emerging worldship. The battle of Transfer, as history would call it, began.

* * *

General Antilles had transferred his command to the planet surface as soon as a beachhead was established. As much as he preferred to be in the cockpit of his trusty old X-wing, he was now the commander of all ground-forces for the Invasion and knew he had to be on the ground.

The assault was as difficult as Han and the rest of the Joint Chiefs thought it would be. The Vong were superior ground warriors. Though the Chazrach were not as effective, they made up for it with sheer numbers and mindless determination. Imperial and Alliance walkers paired off against rakamatis and fire walkers. Coral skippers and smaller Vong air ships faced off against armored air speeders and fighters.

It was the largest battle Antilles had ever coordinated. It didn't help that he was actually forced to give orders to his President.

Fortunately, Kale Naberrie made no effort to make command decisions to override Antilles. "You're a better general than I could ever be," Kale told the hapless Corellian. "Just tell me where you need us."

And so as the battle progressed, Antilles made the best use he could of the four super-powered Kryptonians. After a day's fighting, they had secured enough territory to establish a medical facility, which was already overwhelmed. Transport ships that had carried down the twenty million soldiers were now busy ferrying those same soldiers back to Alderaan for medical treatment.

Just then he saw a blur of red-gold and saw the youngest of the Kryptonians fly in carrying five soldiers. Two actually appeared to be floating behind her.

"More injured," he heard her tell the HQ captain. Her voice was slurred with exhaustion. Still, she stumbled across the floor. He noted she had green blood smeared across her chest, hands and face as she made her way to tactical for a new assignment.

"Karia," Wedge called.

Beside him, Moff Saretti and the rest of Antilles' staff looked up.

The young Kryptonian walked over and looked at them with bleary eyes. "Yes, General?"

"Four hours of sleep before you take any more assignments," he said.

"But Dad and Mom…."

"Are my bosses. You're not. You're also fifteen…"

"Sixteen now."

"Sixteen," Wedge continued. "Go get some sleep. We need you alert."

She actually swayed on her feet. "Fine," she gave in without any more of a struggle. She walked away toward a padded bench against a far wall, collapsed on it and was actually asleep the moment her eyes closed. Despite the chaos of the HQ all around her.

"Wow," Saretti said. "She must have been tired."

Antilles shrugged. "They all are. She's just the only one I can cajole if I need to. Now, what's happening at Menarai?"

* * *

Admiral Kre'fey was growling. "The _Cascatala_ has been destroyed," General Farlander reported in a grim voice.

"How long to recharge?"

"Twenty more seconds. The worldship is breaking through."

Three of the five worldships were dead. The two remaining made no effort to hide their attempts at ramming the _Liberator_. Moreover, one was coming damned close. "Evasive action," the admiral snarled.

"We're trying," the ship's captain said. "The worldship is matching our maneuvers."

Kre'fey knew the rest of the fleet was already engaged in a life-or-death fight with the Vong attack force. They were on their own. He watched through the view screens as the massive ship opened up with all of its secondary weapons.

"Recharge complete. Locked on target, firing!" Farlander said.

The superlaser fired. The approaching worldship disappeared in a brilliant flash of light. From the billow of fiery outgassing, Kre'fey felt his eyes bulge as a massive arm of the dead ship came spinning right at them.

"Move us!" he screamed.

It was too late. The shattered spiral arm of the dead worldship plowed into conning tower and upper thirty decks of the massive ship, literally scalping the ship. This provided the last worldship the opening it needed. It accelerated to ramming speed.

In the master bridge, which was actually buried deeply in the bowels of the ship, Kre'fey picked himself up and saw the threat. There was no way they could recharge or avoid the second worldship. "Farlander?"

The general made no move. In fact, half the bridge was incapacitated. "Fleet communications, are you there?" he called.

"Here, sir!" came a quick response.

"Tell all ships to clear a space," Kre'fey said. "Jedi Corran Horn is in command effective immediately. They are to destroy the enemy fleet at all costs."

"Communication sent, sir."

"May the Force be with us," Kre'fey said.

In the midst of the battle, Corran and the rest of Saber Squadron received the communication. The expert pilots, made more so by the battle meditation of the Jedi among them, turned as one and watched with horror as the last worldship plowed into the center of the _Liberator._ The hypermatter reactor that powered the superlaser went in a brilliant ball of white flame that incinerated the entire worldship and the twenty Vong cruisers that had attempted to also destroy the Alliance super weapon.

"Fleet, this is Horn," Corran said. "I am making my way to the cruiser _Gallath_ where I will coordinate. Saber Squadron, Major Solo is in command. Commander Fel, you are second. Your first order of business is to clear out those damned coral skippers."

"Yes, Saber Leader," Jaina said.

"You're Saber Leader now," Corran said back. He peeled his X-wing out of formation.

"You heard the man," Jaina said. "Space superiority. And I see our next targets. Saber Squadron, let's go!"

* * *

Where was Hool?

Shimrra Jamaane's attempt to find his master shaper was interrupted by the landing of troopers. With the Warmaster still engaged at Fondor, Jamaane had to oversee the placement of troops himself. It was during this duty that he learned that all four of the Kryptonians were on the planet.

Tasii'Chaasta was supposed to have been ready by now.

Now that all of his best warriors were out fighting the enemy, he returned to his original quest of finding the master shaper.

The shaper's damutek was near his own massive one, and it was a short trip. He ignored the fireworks in the skies around him. The horizon burned under the on-going battle. Some enemy troops had even come close to his fortifications, only to be viciously beaten back.

"Hool!" Jamaane cried as he stepped foot into the shaper's realm.

He was surprised to find the halls completely empty, either of shapers, Shamed Ones or slaves. It was not until he approached the birth chambers that he saw signs of life. Life lost.

Bodies littered the floor, torn apart as if a vornskr had gone on a rampage. He recognized the elite of the shaper caste from the pieces of their faces left intact. Still, he continued on without fear. He was the Supreme Overlord. He was the will of the gods made flesh.

Finally he reached the birthing chamber and found himself in a charnel house. The walls were coated in blood and paste that used to be body parts. And in the middle of the room he saw three figures.

The hated Reck Desh was smirking up at the hulking gray giant that took up much of the space. Tasii'Chaasta stood easily five meters tall. His head was free of any hair, save for a ring of white hair just over his ears that hung down like a curtain to his neck. Thick brows were ridged in white spurs of yorick, as were the knuckles of his enormous hands. In fact, every joint appeared thick with the bony growths. His chin bristled with them, giving him the appearance of a beard.

His whole body bristled with power.

"Tasii'Chaasta," Jamaane said. "At last you stand ready! Why are you here? Why are you not doing your duty?"

"Tasii'Chaasta is not a servant," came the voice of the third person there—one Jamaane had all but dismissed.

He turned and stared at Nen Yim in shock. "You dare speak to me like that?"

"I am his most humble servant," Yim said. She was on her knees next to the monster. "I have seen the truth. The Kryptonians I thought were gods, but I was wrong. They were but the seeds. And I as the prophet was to deliver the galaxy this. Our new god. Our one and true God. Tasii'Chaasta."

Desh, whom Jamaane knew was also called Brainiac, smirked and stepped toward the Supreme Overlord. "You have fulfilled your duty, Jamaane. You have given me the means to destroy Kale Naberrie. For you see, my arrogant, foolish friend, Doomsday here is not just the death of your enemies. He is the death of you as well."

Jamaane tore his eyes away from Desh. "You serve me!" he screamed "You serve me!"

At last the beast spoke. Words rumbled up from the pit, low and growled as if a mountain was given voice. "I serve no one," Doomsday said. It took two massive steps that made the whole damutek shake and placed a hand on Jamaane's head. The Overlord swung his scepter of power, only to have it bounce off the impenetrable skin of Doomsday's arm.

"I serve no one," the beast said as it closed its first.

The head of the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong popped like an over ripened melon. The body fell.

Desh and Doomsday turned and looked Nen Yim, who stared up with a beatific expression on her scarred, horrid Vong face. "Are you ready to die for your god?" Desh said.

"Yes," Nen Yim whispered. "By his hand I shall die with honor!"

She did not die by his hand. Doomsday did not bother. He raised a foot and ground her to a paste before turning to Brainiac. "Show me the enemy," he ground out.

"Yes, I shall," Brainiac assured the monster.

They turned but found a surprise standing there watching.

Nom Anor.

"Hello, old friend," Brainiac said with a smile. "What a serendipitous start to the day. First the Supreme Overlord, and now you. Whatever shall we talk about?"

Nom Anor made a gargling sound before he turned to run.

* * *

Jor slammed up through the underbelly of the rakamat and tried not to make gagging sounds as he emerged through its spine. He was coated in its innards and blood.

The beast made a piteous wail as it fell over to its side The Alliance made quick work of the surviving Chazrach and took another city block.

Jor floated back down to the Alliance juggernaut tank that was serving as the regional mobile command station.

Kyle Katarn smiled up from the side of the massive tank. "I can smell you from here," the Jedi Master called.

"I bet," Jor said. He alit to the side and smiled in thanks as one of the troopers hosed him down. "Better," he said. "Where are we?"

"We've managed to take the entire sector," Kyle said. "The Vong warriors are giving us trouble, but the chazrach appear to be crumbling for some reason. Saba just sent a message saying an entire division of chazrach just attacked each other and their Vong masters."

"Maybe the planet's yammosk is nuts," Jor speculated.

"Or maybe," a haunting familiar voice said, "it is dead."

Jor spun around, as did Kyle. Floating a few feet off the side of the juggernaut was Brainiac. The creature no longer even pretended to be human now. Reck Desh's face was now a blue-gray color with a strange formation of three jointed metal dots along its bald forehead. The creature was clad in a strange purple suit.

"Oh, Dad's going to be so happy you're here," Jor growled.

"Perhaps," Brainiac said in a cool, emotionless tone. All trace of affected humanity was gone. "Or perhaps he will flee in terror. For his doom is here."

Something shadowed the light. Jor looked up and saw a blob of rock falling toward the juggernaut. With a Force-push he sent Kyle flying out the far side of the tank and jumped himself just as a five-meter tall monstrosity landed on the tank, crushing it and all those within it in a second.

"Jor-El Naberrie," Brainiac said. "I am pleased to introduce you to your son. Doomsday."

Jor's stomach twisted as the beast straightened to his full height. "Father," Doomsday said in a voice like a volcano about to erupt. "Give me a hug."

The bottom of the tank ripped up in the creature's hands and swung around like a club. Jor did not even have time to evade as the rear section of the tank slammed into him. Everything went dark for a split second before Jor became aware of warm hands on his shoulders.

He forced his eyes open and looked up into the concerned face of his mother. "Jor?" she whispered. "You're bleeding. What happened?"

"Brainiac," Jor forced himself to speak. His jaw hurt horribly. "And something else. My son."

His mother's face darkened. "Jor?"

"They took it from me," he told her. "My seed. They've made a monster."

"Indeed we have."

Mara looked up and saw Brainiac's true form floating nearby. "The end of the house of El approaches, Mara Jade Naberrie. Tell your mate. Warn your children. Your doom is upon you."

* * *

"Commander Solo!"

Han looked up from the tactical display on board the _Eclipse_. He wore a grim expression. "I know, we lost the _Liberator._"

"No, sir, a planet has arrived in system."

Beside hand, Leia blinked. "What?"

"A planet arrived. It just appeared out of nowhere," the harried lieutenant said.

"Does it have life on it?" Han demanded.

"Yes, sir! It's teaming with it. Nothing metal. Appears to be organic technology."

Han and his wife shared a long look. "Vong," he decided. "Bring the primary weapon around and prepare to fire on the planet."

"Sir?"

"Full barrage, superlaser and nukes," Han continued. "Somehow they've moved past worldships to actual worlds."

* * *

Zonama Sekot began its subtle call to its lost children. _Come to me_, it called to them. _Come to me and know peace. _

The Vong hesitated in their own battles on Coruscant as they heard the call of the last seed from their dead homeworld. Their hearts yearned to return to this place where they should have been from the beginning.

And then a superlaser and five hundred billion megatons of nuclear-tipped photon torpedoes and missiles impacted the equator of the planet. Vong fell to their knees and covered their ears as the child of their original homeworld screamed out in pain.

On the _Eclipse_, Leia fell to her knees as well, as did all other Jedi. "It's alive!" she screamed. "The whole planet is alive!"

"Not for long," Han assured her. On his orders the entire fleet brought their weapons to bear and released every hardpoint ordinance they had. A veritable forest of missiles and torpedoes flew toward the planet, which was bleeding flame and molten rock from its equator where the superlaser struck. Shockwaves from the first barrage swept across the surface, vaporizing all life on the surface of the nomadic planet.

By the time the first missiles of the second barrage struck, the _Eclipse_ fired again.

Zonama Sekot died screaming into the Force. Every Force sensitive in the galaxy fell still before its death throes. Those who were not born with the Force watched as the planet split apart before the destructive forces of nuclear and hypermatter fire, and the tidal forces that already existed in the system.

The living planet had sensed the pain and death of its children and came to offer them peace and a home. Instead, it found itself killed in the war those same children started.

"Total war," Han said into the silence that followed. "No quarter."


	45. Doomsday

**Chapter Forty-Five: Doomsday**

"General Antilles," the captain said, "we have reports coming in from all across the planet. Vong defenses are crumbling. Sector commanders are awaiting orders."

"Pursue without mercy," came Wedge's reply. "Any idea where the President is?"

"Right here, Wedge."

The entire floor turned to see Kale Naberrie striding toward the tactical station. The president noted his daughter still sleeping in a corner. "Thank you for that."

"She was beat."

"We all are," Kale said. "I just spoke with Han. The Vong attempted to deploy a planet-sized weapon. We've lost the _Liberator_, but fortunately the _Eclipse_ was enough to deal with it. Any word from the Fondor expedition?"

"Master Horn reports that the fleet lost cohesiveness about the same time forces here did. They report complete victory, but with almost fifty-percent losses."

Kale's face darkened a little. "That was the main Vong fleet in the galaxy."

"It was, sir. There's little left but what they can grow and Sernpidal, and that's our next target."

Suddenly Karia sat up and screamed. The whole floor stared at her in shock. However, she quickly shook it off and rushed faster than human eyes could see to her father's side. "Jor's hurt!" she said urgently. "Brainiac made a weapon. A monster. It hurt Jor."

Wedge watched as the President's face went blank. A moment later his eyes widened at whatever it was he felt. "General," he said, "you are to pursue the eradication of all Vong from this planet. No quarter is to be offered."

"I understand, Mr. President."

With that, Karia and Kale disappeared.

"Wonder what that was about?" the tactical captain said.

"We'll find out," Wedge said.

* * *

_It's strong, Kale_, came Mara's weary reply. _Stronger than us._

Kale flew as fast as he could with Karia following steadily behind him. He arrived in the sector with his wife and son just moments later and saw a monster unlike anything he could ever have imagined.

Jor was putting up an amazing fight, kicking and swinging fists with seismic force to keep the monster off his fallen mother. Mara was picking herself up, but slowly. Blood ran down from a cut on her head that had yet to heal, and she was clutching her side in obvious pain.

"Karia, see to your mother," Kale said.

"But dad…"

"Look what it's done to her," Kale said.

Karia looked and paled. "Okay."

_Jor_, Kale said through the Force. _On three, duck._

_One._

_Two._

_Three. _

Jor ducked as Kale flew by so fast the air exploded behind him. The beast Brainiac called Doomsday got a brief look at two fists before Kale hit it full-on.

The creature flew back in a parabolic arc almost a kilometer. Kale, momentum lost, settled to the cracked permacrete. "Wow," he muttered. He shook both hands before turning to his family. "Mara, are you all right?"

"That thing packs a punch," Mara said. "Where's Brainiac?"

"I don't know," Kale said. "But…"

"Dad!" Karia screamed.

Kale had just a moment to look up before Doomsday slammed into him, pushing him almost a meter into the permacrete. The monster looked up at the other three with black eyes. "You're next," it growled at them.

* * *

The figure flew unnoticed through the atmospheric shields and set foot on the deck. "Primitive," it said. "But sufficient for my needs." He began walking toward the far entrance, ignored in the din and chaos of a hangar deck constantly moving soldiers to and from the surface.

* * *

_You've never felt your bones break, have you, Kal-El?_

Kale did not know why the memory of his last fight with General Zod came to mind. Of course, the memory came as he was flying backward through a vine-chocked tower. He was aware through one swollen eye that the monster Doomsday was following him. The creature did not appear to be able to fly, but it could jump astonishing distances.

It had jumped after him, its white hair fluttering like a small cape.

_Where is your vaunted Force now?_

Kale landed with the force of a missile impact. And just meters away, with equal power, landed Doomsday. "Come, grandfather," it growled at him teasingly. "Where is your fighting spirit?"

Desperate for a chance to catch his breath, Kale Force-pushed with all his might.

The power of the blow knocked the beast back, but did not even lift him from his feet. "A feeble effort," it said. "Surely you can do better."

Just then Jor arrived, once more fighting for his parent. "Try this!" He threw a punch that would have shattered durasteel. The beast's head whipped back, but only for a moment before a huge, bony fist slammed into Jor. Kale heard a sickening crunch and his son's cry of pain before the power of the impact sent Jor himself flying.

In the distance he saw Karia catch her brother. Mara, meanwhile, came to take his place.

Kale struggled to his feet. "Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"I will kill Kal-El," the beast said. "That is why I live."

"And then?"

"And then I will kill Mara Naberrie of the House of El," the beast said. "And then Jor-El, and then Karia El. I shall destroy all the house of El."

Well, there went any type of negotiation. "I can't allow that."

"You cannot stop it," the creature growled. "I am inevitable."

* * *

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Han looked up from tactical just in time to see an Alliance trooper fly across the room. He slammed into the display screens with a cracking sound as his spine snapped. Han's eyes tracked from the victim to the thrower and saw the creature with Reck Desh's face in the middle of an inhuman body.

"Brainiac," Han snarled.

Leia too recognized the being that almost killed Kyle. Her lightsaber was in hand, though she had yet to ignite it.

"This ship will serve my purposes," Brainiac said. Four sets of metallic tubes shot out of its back, slamming into the floor below and two power conduits above. "It shall be mine now. I shall be merciful and allow you to leave now."

"Like hell," Han said. He pulled his blaster, as did every trooper on the bridge. All started firing, but their weapons fire had absolutely no effect. Brainiac absorbed the blaster bolts without flinching.

"Very noble," Brainiac said. "Stay if you wish. I am now in control of this vessel."

The tactical hologram faded, replaced by an image of the three dots on Brainiac's head. Across the command deck, all displays were replaced by the symbol.

"We need Anakin," Leia whispered.

"What do you know, he's on board," Han said.

"What's he doing here?" Leia demanded.

"Waiting for his girlfriend to come back, of course," Han said.

Leia closed her eyes and reached out with the Force. "I found him. He's already in the system himself trying to do what he can."

* * *

Buildings crumbled as the two titans fought. Jor, Mara and Karia helped where they could, but none of them had the sheer power Kale did after a lifetime of absorbing yellow sunlight. So instead they dedicated themselves to clearing the combat area of friendly troops or civilians.

Meanwhile, the war raged on. Though Vong forces were demoralized by the death of Zonama Sekot and disorganized by the destruction of the World Brain, they still numbered in the millions and fought viciously.

For every blow Kale got in, Doomsday got two. Every time Kale knocked Doomsday off his feet, Doomsday slammed him through the permacrete. Twice their battle had taken them into the depths of the lower levels, where the very foundations of the city-planet trembled. Towers kilometers high collapsed in rubbish as they pounded away at each other.

Kale fought blindly now, pushed on by ultimate need. It never dawned on him that he could not win, because to fail meant the death of those he loved. So he fought on, using every power at his disposal. The Force slowed the being down but did not stop him. His heat vision was an irritation. The one time he managed to burn the creature's eyes, it grew them back in mere seconds. It seemed not only invulnerable to any harm, but when harm was done it healed far faster than Kale or his kind.

His family tried all they could—even Karia sported a vast bruise over her face where a bony fist knocked her away like an irritating insect. But they simply could not do anything.

So he picked himself up again and drew on the very core of his essence, and jumped into the fight again.

* * *

The crew of the _Eclipse_ stood by helplessly as Brainiac continued to integrate himself into the computer core. Twenty decks below, in a small corner room with a computer terminal, Anakin Solo sat with his hands on the input keys of a terminal, eyes closed.

He could feel the essence that was Brainiac slowly overwriting the code that controlled the ship's systems. Without even bothering to use his fingers, Anakin plunged his consciousness into the computer.

Almost instantly, a giant face appeared before him. "Anakin Solo," the face said. "Your nobility is touching. What do you believe you can do to me?"

"With the Force, all things are possible."

"You are young and foolish," Brainiac said. "When the house of El has been obliterated, I shall destroy the Jedi next."

A swarm of antiviral programs swarmed toward Anakin. Somehow, though, the young man knew they were not a threat. He called the Force to him and realized that within this strange artificial mindscape, he began to glow.

As soon as the antiviral programs reached his aura, they shut down and drifted away.

"Interesting," Brainiac said. "The primitive technology of this galaxy is obviously not sufficient. Let us see how you do against Kryptonian technology." A metal tentacle shot out toward Anakin, wrapping around his metaphysical waist. The young man could not help but scream in pain.

"Yes, you feel that, do you not?" Brainiac said. "On the planet below the seed of Jor-El is destroying Kal-El. Afterwards he shall destroy Kal-El's family. And when he has done that, I shall use this weapon to destroy you and the rest of your puny forces. Only when I am in control of the galaxy shall there truly be peace."

"Didn't you learn anything from Thrawn?" Anakin growled. "You can't steal my ships!"

With a grunt at the effort, Anakin flared out his Force strength. The glow surrounding him burst like a small nova, pushing the metal tentacles away. He began moving forward through the program-scape of the computer's main core toward where Brainiac had penetrated. "This is my ship," he declared. "And I will not let you have it!"

"You cannot stop me," Brainiac said. "You are just a foolish…oh."

A flare of Force light exploded before the Brain Interactive Construct.

On the command deck, the four tentacles retracted back into the body of Reck Desh, which then collapsed to the floor. The intercom piped up. "Dad, this is Anakin. I managed to kick him out. He's rebooting. We need to get him in front of the superlaser in ten minutes or he's going to just do it again. I won't be able to beat him a second time."

"We're on it, son," Han said. He grinned at Leia. "Damn we have some fine kids!"

* * *

Kale's jaw broke under the blow. He didn't make a sound as his legs broke through the permacrete. He just punched again himself.

There was a constant ringing in his ears, and his head throbbed with more than just the pain of his jaw. He was bleeding all over, but still he fought.

Somehow, in some way, Doomsday was weakening as well. Some of the bone had broken off his knuckles and chin, one from Kale's face, the latter from his fists. His gray body had darkened patches that could only be bruises, though he did not appear to be bleeding.

Kale was almost beyond thinking. He fought like an animal—instinctively refusing to abandon his family to this monster. But he had very little left to fight with.

The swath of destruction around them was astounding. Whole city blocks were reduced to rubble.

Jor once again tried to buy his father time and came in with a flying kick strong enough to knock the beast off the platform where their fight had taken them. This would only buy the time it took for Doomsday to reach the bottom and jump back up.

Karia and Mara also arrived, as bloodied and exhausted as Kale. "We can't keep doing this," Mara decided. "We've got to withdraw."

"And leave our soldiers to that thing?" Kale said.

"You won't do anyone any good dead!" Mara snapped.

Karia straightened then, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "Brainiac tried to take over the E_clipse_," she told them.

"What?" Mara said, terrified at the idea.

"Anakin beat him in the computer core," Karia continued with a note of awe in her voice. "He used the Force to meld into the computer and beat Brainiac. Uncle Han had a maintenance droid fly it into the front of the superlaser and they fired. Now they can't find any trace of Brainiac at all."

Mara looked at Kale. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"What?" Kale asked, too tired to think at all.

"We've done everything against this brute we can except trying to levitate him," Mara said. "We carried three thousand people in a Force bubble. Why can't we carry one monster?"

Their time was up. Doomsday flew over the parapet and slammed into the permacrete between them, knocking all four down. "It is time to die," it announced.

"No today!" Mara said. She held out a hand and Doomsday lifted off the platform. "Jor, Karia!"

The two younger Kryptonian Jedi did the same, encasing the monster in a Force bubble. The beast responded by spinning around and throwing a fist down. The kinetic force of his blow broke through the Force-hold.

It was enough time for Kale to stand and form a few coherent thoughts. "Not like that," he whispered. Summoning what strength he had left, he harnessed the Force and did not try to encapsulate the monster. Instead, he used the Force and tossed Doomsday in the air.

"I understand!" Karia said. She followed and did the same, using the Force like a giant stick to hit Doomsday even higher.

Jor and Mara both soared into the air and did the same, followed moments later by Kale. "Karia, tell Anakin we're coming," Kale said. "And that we need to do the same thing with this beast."

By this time Doomsday was roaring in rage, but all his mighty strength was rendered useless by the repeated but short blows in the Force. He had nothing to brace his massive strength against. Without the power of flight, he simply had no defense against the four Kryptonians.

It was a balancing act, though. The creature weighed over three tons, and with that much mass it was not easy for them to keep him accelerating up. Still, all four realized they had no choice.

* * *

Anakin stumbled onto the command deck, clearly exhausted. "Oh, Anakin!" Leia said as she swept her son into a hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Mom, wait!" Anakin said. "Karia said they've been fighting some kind of monster on the surface. They need us to blast it with the superlaser."

Han looked at the ship's captain. "Antrose, did you hear that?"

"Yes, sir! Think we've spotted them just now emerging from the atmosphere. I'll put it on tactical now."

Han, Leia and Anakin watched as the four Kryptonians batted the five-meter tall monster up through the atmosphere. Once they broke through the immediate gravity well, they suddenly accelerated.

"They're coming right toward us," Han said. "Start the primary ignition and put the weapon on standby fire. We'll need to fire quickly."

"Wonder what could force the Naberrie family to fall back on a superlaser," Leia said.

"The Vong shaped Jor's son," Anakin answered. "And made a monster. Not even Uncle Kale could really beat him in a fair fight. This is the only way."

In the vacuum of space, four Kryptonians used the Force to position Doomsday. The beast's mouth was open, yelling soundless threats into the void.

"Not going to get a better invitation than that," Han said.

"Indeed," Captain Antrose said. "Fire main weapon!"

The four Kryptonians peeled away as a beam of green death seared through space. Doomsday threw both arms back and roared in silence as the superlaser beam hit him directly.

Such was the density of Doomsday's body that he did not vaporize. Rather, he was thrown back into the shattered hulk of a dead Vong worldship which the _Eclipse_ aimed at to ensure the beam did not leave the system and cause damage elsewhere.

The four Kryptonian's floow after him.

The only part of the hull of the dead worldship that remained was a five-meter section in which Doomsday was embedded.

His body was mostly intact, but his grey skin was criss-crossed with red cracks, like the surface of dried lava cracked by the flow of new molten rock below.

Somehow, the beast was still moving, albeit slowly.

In the command deck, Anakin whistled. "That wasn't enough," he told everyone. "We have to fire again."

"We've already begun recharging," Han said.

Using the Force since none dared to touch the monster, the Naberrie family dragged it away from the shard of hull. It took five minutes to return him to position. They had to wait as the ship recharged, using occasional Force nudges to keep Doomsday in place. The beast lowered his head, though the glow of its ruptured skin had faded somewhat.

Just before the recharge cycle finished, it looked up and glared at Kale. Then the superlaser fired.

Skin already cracked did not have sufficient time to heal. The second blast tore Doomsday apart. The four Kryptonians watched as a whole arm spun through space. There was no sign of the rest of him.

Together, they flew toward the hanger of the _Eclipse­. _The moment they passed through the force field, all four collapsed to the deck in wounded exhaustion.

Somehow, Kale was not surprised to see that Anakin Solo was there, looking pale himself. Still, the young man rushed to Karia's side and scooped her up into his lap. She went happily, smiling despite her many bruises and wounds as she snuggled into his arms.

"I understand you did good," Kale noted of the young Jedi.

"I heard you did too," Anakin said.

Kale grinned, then grimaced as it reminded him of his broken jaw. He laid back down on the deck, no longer concerned with the many, many people watching. "Mara, Naboo's not looking so bad about now, is it?"

He tried hard not to laugh as his wife broke out in gasping guffaws.


	46. A Brief Peace

**Chapter Forty-Six: A Brief Peace**

The Third Battle of Coruscant lasted fourteen days. Fourteen days to wipe out the last Vong hold-outs.

The war itself ground on for another six months, but was nothing like the first two years. Though the Vong continued to fight to the death, when the Alliance destroyed the shipwomb and Sernpidal, they lost much of their ship production capabilities. With the deaths on Coruscant of all the leaders in every caste, individual pockets of Vong fought without cohesion. They were unable to muster the huge fleets that had terrified the Galaxy.

With the _Eclipse_, those smaller fleets were quickly eliminated. It was the ground war that took the longest, and it was those warriors who still fought most bravely.

The last battle took place on Gyndine. A mixed force of Mandalorians, Hapans and Alliance marines and Jedi destroyed the last Vong warriors, while the now pitiful fleet was obliterated. After that, three more worldships were discovered and destroyed just outside the galactic rim. As far as anyone knew, the last Vong had perished.

When the ash settled, the true import of the war struck almost the whole galaxy. Fourteen worlds had been rendered completely dead, another forty-three suffered ecological damage that put them almost beyond repair. Although it was impossible to get exact numbers, the dead were believed to be in the trillions. Whole species, such as the Rodians and Hutts, had been hunted to extinction by the Vong.

The Jedi Order's charter was adopted by the Alliance Senate and confirmed by President Naberrie ensuring that the Order had autonomy from the government. However, the provision allowing for the civilian trial of Jedi where clear violations of galactic law occurred remained.

No one wanted a repeat of Kyp Durron's smuggler hunting vigilantism.

Four months after the last shot was fired, Anakin Solo and Karia Naberrie were wed in a simple ceremony on Naboo. Each of them were now seventeen, and as head-over-heels in love with each other as ever.

Kale and Mara both proudly walked their daughter down the aisle, while Anakin stood waiting with Kyle Katarn in his full Jedi regalia. It was Kyle, proudly wearing his new prosthetic arm, who would be performing the ceremony. "Jor pushed me hard," Kyle said when the Naberries found him two days after their fight with Doomsday. "Now Jan and I can have a fair arm wrestling contest!"

Next to Anakin stood his father, his best man—Jor-El Naberrie, looking somber and a little sad—and Jedi Master Corran Horn.

Across from the men stood Jaina Solo, resplendent in a blue dress, Danni Quee, equally beautiful, and Winter Celchu. However, Karia didn't see any of them. Her eyes were on Anakin, and his eyes were on her.

The bride wore white shimmersilk laced with Ithorian sapphires that matched perfectly the brilliant blue of her eyes. The dress bared her shoulders, while the veil did little but to throw her face in an indistinct shadow.

The vows were spoken with such sincerity that the few family members invited were in tears.

During the reception that followed, Kale danced with his radiant daughter before passing her off to Han, and then finally to her new husband.

"He'll take good care of her," Leia said as she and Kale twirled around the floor.

"I know," Kale said. "But there is something I need to ask."

Leia must have sensed his hesitation. "What?"

"How do you feel about a Kryptonian for a son?"

"What?"

"We're a race of four," Kale said. "If there is to ever be a new Krypton, we must increase our numbers. In the end, that's why my parents changed Mara."

"I don't know about that," Leia said.

"A marriage should be among equals," Kale said softly. "Mara and I understand that now. Though we loved each other so much, neither of us was truly happy. Not until now. Because now she is truly my equal. In a few years, Leia, Anakin is going to look up and realize that he is old, and Karia is not. Is that what you want for them?"

The two paused in their dancing a moment to observe the young couple. They were dancing so close, laughing and smiling with pure, unadulterated joy. It was the happiest Leia had ever seen her son.

"I guess not," she whispered. "Will it hurt?"

"Yes," Kale said simply. "Mara screamed for a month. But if you ask her, she would tell you she has no regrets."

"And since the change?"

"She's pregnant again," Kale whispered. "Somehow, she's pregnant again. And the child will be pure Kryptonian."

Their eyes shifted to where Danni Quee and Jor-El danced. They were not laughing with joy like Jor's sister and her husband. Rather, they clung to each other almost as if in desperation. "And Danni?"

"In time, if a strong enough bond forms, perhaps," Kale said. "We cannot risk changing anyone who is not of the purest heart. With your son, I have no doubts. He is the best of us all. But Danni has a darkness within her that I will need to wait out. I don't blame her, but I don't want to tempt her either."

Leia nodded. Finally, she looked up at the man she had called cousin for so many years. "And you? The war's over. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to serve my term," Kale answered. "And when it is over I will offer to serve one more. And then after that, I'm going home."

"To Naboo?"

"No. To Hoth. To my palace. Mara and I agree. While she was human Naboo was what we needed. But now, the cold is bracing. The whiteness sings to us. It reminds us of our genetic past. In time, Hoth will be the new Krypton."

"And will we see you again?"

Kale smiled and nodded down at Leia. "Yes. I learned an important lesson in all this, Leia. I can't hide from what I am, and I can't hide my responsibility to the galaxy. I'll be back, in any capacity you or the rest need me. I won't go hiding ever again."

"Better not," Leia said.

They finished their dance and he and Han switched partners again, until he was once more dancing with his perfect, beautiful wife, and Leia was once more dancing with her perfect, handsome husband.

* * *

"It was a good party," Jagged Fel said. "I'm unsure why I was invited, though."

Jaina kept her face inscrutable. "I have no idea. But you have to admit, it's a nice planet."

Fel took a deep breath of clean night air and nodded. "It is indeed."

"Would you like to go swimming?" Jaina suddenly asked.

Fel blinked at her.

"The lakes around her have a thermal vent. The water is always warm. I used to swim here when I was a kid."

"I have no suit to swim in," Fel said.

Jaina leaned forward and captured the young pilot in dark, glinting eyes. "Neither do I."

* * *

There is no such thing as happily ever after. But there are times of happiness, and times of peace. Times of rebuilding and times where hope is stronger than despair.

Kale Naberrie served two terms as President of the Alliance. During his second term trouble arose from the Killiks on the edge of Chiss space, but was quickly put down. Civil unrest arose with Corellia, but again compromise was sought and agreed upon. In time, the give and take between the many star systems of the galaxy and the new government that linked them all settled into a bureaucratic system.

Kale stepped down and welcomed his successor. In a tight race between Natasi Daala and Leia Organa Solo, the former Chief of State of the New Republic assumed Kale's seat and served two terms herself before retiring once and for all from public office to reassume her duties with the newly formed Jedi Council.

Kale and Mara welcomed their second son, Jacen Ben Naberrie, and introduced him to his niece Kalli Solo who was born to Karia and a newly Kryptonian Anakin Solo a year after their marriage.

Years went by. Small wars were fought and won. But for a generation at least, there was peace.

It was the best they could hope for, Kale knew. And for that brief peace, he was thankful.

* * *

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**Author's Note**

Once again I would like to thank all of you for your support and reviews. The only Star Wars story I still have cooking is The Last Jedi, the first part of which has been submitted for Beta reading. I don't know when I'll start posting.

Thank you again.

Darth Marrs


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